SCOTLAND

Departmental Plants

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on cut flowers in each of the last three years.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office does not maintain a central record of flowers purchased.

Departmental Press

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which  (a) newspapers,  (b) magazines and  (c) journals his Department has subscriptions to.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office orders a selection of newspapers and magazines on a weekly basis, which varies according to demand. The Department does not subscribe to any journals.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Legislative Process

David Amess: To ask the Leader of the House how many minutes were spent on the Third Reading of each Bill passed by the House since May 2005.

Chris Bryant: The information is provided in the following table. This includes any time spent on Divisions.
	
		
			  Date  Bill  Time spent on third reading  (Hrs. mins) 
			  Session 2005-06   
			 6 July 2005 Finance Bill 0.22 
			 11 July 2005 Racial and Religious Hatred Bill(1) 1.04 
			 14 July 2005 Consumer Credit Bill 1.06 
			 20 July 2005 Regulation of Financial Services (Land Transactions) Bill 0.41 
			 10 October 2005 Civil Aviation Bill 0.39 
			 11 October 2005 Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill 0.21 
			 17 October 2005 Transport (Wales) Bill 1.27 
			 18 October 2005 Identity Cards Bill(1) 1.01 
			 10 November 2005 Terrorism Bill 4.00 
			 14 November 2005 Violent Crime Reduction Bill 0.45 
			 16 November 2005 Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill(1) 0.47 
			 24 November 2005 European Union (Accessions) Bill 0.19 
			 30 November 205 Terrorism (Northern Ireland) Bill 2.15 
			 1 December 2005 Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill 0.40 
			 6 December 2005 London Olympics Bill 0.43 
			 15 December 2005 National Insurance Contributions Bill 0.32 
			 11 January 2006 Electoral Administration Bill 0.29 
			 16 January 2006 Equality Bill (Lords) 1.00 
			 18 January 2006 Work and Families Bill 1.15 
			 19 January 2006 National Lottery Bill(1) 0.43 
			 26 January 2006 Criminal Defence Service Bill (Lords) 0.44 
			 14 February 2006 Health Bill(1) 1.07 
			 28 February 2006 Government of Wales Bill(1) 1.33 
			 7 March 2006 Merchant Shipping (Pollution) Bill (Lords) 0.15 
			 9 March 2006 Childcare Bill 0.26 
			 14 March 2006 Animal Welfare Bill 0.18 
			 27 April 2006 Northern Ireland Bill 0.01 
			 10 May 2006 Police and Justice Bill 0.16 
			 11 May 2006 Housing Corporation (Delegation) etc. Bill 0.34 
			 16 May 2006 Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill(1) 0.33 
			 17 May 2006 Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 0.42 
			 22 May 2006 Armed Forces Bill 0.42 
			 24 May 2006 Education and Inspections Bill(1) 0.46 
			 20 June 2006 Children and Adoption Bill (Lords)(1) 0.56 
			 29 June 2006 Commons Bill (Lords) 0.19 
			 5 July 2006 Finance (No. 2) Bill(1) 0.45 
			 13 July 2006 NHS Redress Bill (Lords)(1) 0.38 
			 17 July 2006 Compensation Bill (Lords) 0.41 
			 19 July 2006 Commissioner for Older People (Wales) Bill (Lords) 0.22 
			 9 October 2006 Road Safety Bill (Lords) 0.45 
			 19 October 2006 Companies Bill (Lords) 0.58 
			 23 October 2006 Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill (Lords) 0.18 
			 25 October 2006 Charities Bill (Lords) 0.44 
			 26 October 2006 Fraud Bill (Lords) 0.20 
			
			  Session 2006-07   
			 28 November 2006 Investment Exchanges and Clearing Houses Bill 0.15 
			 9 January 2007 Welfare Reform Bill 0.44 
			 25 January 2007 Fraud (Trials without a jury) Bill(1) 0.48 
			 29 January 2007 Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill(1) 0.25 
			 6 February 2007 Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill(1) 0.50 
			 20 February 2007 Planning-gain Supplement (Preparations) Bill(1) 1.16 
			 20 February 2007 Income Tax Bill 0.48 
			 27 February 2007 Greater London Authority Bill(1) 0.55 
			 28 February 2007 Offender Management Bill(1) 1.20 
			 13 March 2007 Statistics and Registration Service Bill 1.00 
			 27 March 2007 Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) (No. 2) Bill 0.01 
			 18 April 2007 Pensions Bill 0.59 
			 9 May 2007 UK Borders Bill 0.43 
			 22 May 2007 Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill(1) 0.55 
			 14 June 2007 Rating (Empty Properties) Bill 0.33 
			 19 June 2007 Mental Health Bill (Lords)(1) 1.02 
			 26 June 2007 Finance Bill(1) 0.34 
			 27 June 2007 Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill (Lords) 0.21 
			 28 June 2007 Concessionary Bus Travel Bill (Lords) 0.13 
			 5 July 2007 Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill (Lords) 0.50 
			 12 July 2007 Further Education and Training Bill (Lords) 1.02 
			 17 July 2007 Parliament (Joint Departments) Bill (Lords) 0.10 
			 23 July 2007 Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Bill (Lords) 0.57 
			 15 October 2007 Legal Services Bill (Lords) 0.55 
			 22 October 2007 Serious Crime Bill (Lords) 0.28 
			
			  Session 2007-08   
			 3 December 2007 Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill 0.35 
			 9 January 2008 Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill 0.32 
			 17 January 2008 Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Bill 0.14 
			 31 January 2008 National Insurance Contributions Bill(1) 1.00 
			 19 February 2008 Banking (Special Provisions) Bill(1) 1.37 
			 11 March 2008 European Union (Amendment) Bill(1) 6.18 
			 31 March 2008 Housing and Regeneration Bill 0.19 
			 30 April 2008 Energy Bill 0.32 
			 13 May 2008 Education and Skills Bill 0.35 
			 11 June 2008 Counter-Terrorism Bill(1) 0.11 
			 2 July 2008 Finance Bill(1) 0.31 
			 10 July 2008 Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill(1) 0.47 
			 8 October 2008 Children and Young Persons Bill(1) 0.27 
			 22 October 2008 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill(1) 0.21 
			 27 October 2008 Local Transport Bill (Lords)(1) 0.27 
			 28 October 2008 Climate Change Bill (Lords)(1) 0.16 
			 3 November 2008 Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill (Lords) 0.26 
			 4 November 2008 Employment Bill (Lords) 0.32 
			 (1) Includes Division

TRANSPORT

A303

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for completion of the dualling of the A303.

Paul Clark: Following our decision to give regions a greater role in determining priorities for major transport schemes within indicative allocations, it is for the South West region to advise on the relative priority of dualling improvements to the A303 alongside other proposed schemes in the region. We are expecting advice on the priorities for transport investment in the South West in the period to 2018-19 by the end of this month.

A303: Stonehenge

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultation he had with Visit Britain on his Department's review of the Stonehenge improvement scheme.

Paul Clark: The Highways Agency carried out a widely publicised consultation between January and April 2006 on alternative options for improvements to the A303 running past Stonehenge. There is no record of Visit Britain having responded to this consultation.

Cars: Insurance

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what system the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has in place to ensure that accurate and up-to-date car insurance information is held on its databases.

Jim Fitzpatrick: All motor vehicle insurance details are held on the insurance industry's motor insurance database (MID) and it is the insurance industry's responsibility to provide data to it. The Department requires 95 per cent. of new records to be on the database within seven days. The industry estimates that nearly 99 per cent. of all appropriate records are now on the database within seven days.

Cars: Insurance

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicle excise duty online renewals have been refused in the last period for which figures are available because car insurance details have not been held on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency database.

Jim Fitzpatrick: When customers apply for a tax disc on Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency Electronic Vehicle Re-licensing (EVL) service, the vehicle's insurance is electronically checked with the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB), these details are not held on DVLA's database. If the insurance details cannot be traced with the MIB, customers are not able to make a re-licensing transaction through the EVL service. If customers have recently renewed, updated or changed the insurance policy, the vehicle details may not have been updated yet on the MIB. The reason for this is that the MIB only records the expiry date of the current insurance period. Once that current period ends the new insurance period updates the database.
	The number of incomplete transactions from November 2008 to January 2009, where insurance details could not be found are:
	November 2008: 109,050 out of 1,691,556 transactions
	December 2008: 89,633 out of 1,622,678 transactions
	January 2008: 130,231 out of 1,961,037 transactions

Driving Tests

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on revisions to the standard driving test.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In parallel with our wide ranging learning to drive consultation which looks at reforming the way that people learn to drive and are tested, we have initiated a programme of research to trial and evaluate the measures proposed. These include:
	Evaluation of classroom-based discussion groups exploring young people's attitudes to safe driving.
	Assessing the impact of different educational interventions and access to learning materials on performance at the theory test.
	Development of a self evaluation tool that could help learners identify their attitudes towards risk and safety.
	Assessing possible changes to the content of the practical driving test, such as examiners giving candidates less direction for part of the test.
	Development of a revised marking scheme for the practical test, based on a candidate's demonstration of defined competencies rather than the current fault-based assessment.
	We propose to publish reports of each of the research projects in due course.

Great Eastern Railway

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to increase capacity on the Chelmsford to Liverpool Street railway line.

Paul Clark: The Secretary of State for Transport set out his requirements for additional peak capacity into London Liverpool Street in the White Paper "Delivering a Sustainable Railway" published in July 2007.
	The Department for Transport is actively engaged in discussions with National Express East Anglia (NXEA) aimed at achieving early commercial agreement that will enable NXEA to increase the capacity it provides to meet this requirement. This will include services between Chelmsford and Liverpool Street.

Heathrow Airport: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many schools within the boundaries of areas surrounding Heathrow airport currently have air quality with a nitrogen dioxide level of 40 micrograms/m3 or greater.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The technical report "Population Exposure to Air Pollution", published as part of the "Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport" consultation in November 2007, shows (Table 3.4) 16 'sensitive receptors' (which includes schools) with nitrogen dioxide levels above the limit of 40 micrograms/m3 in 2002. Data for the current year are not available but no such exceedances are predicted in 2010 or future years, with or without airport expansion.

Heathrow Airport: Job Creation

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate has been made of the number of new jobs which would be created by the expansion of Heathrow Airport.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The assessment of additional jobs from a third runway are set out in the recently published 'Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport—Impact Assessment'. This is available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/heathrowconsultations/heathrowdecision/impactassessment/
	Table A1, page 92 shows the incremental impact of a third runway relative to the base case of no third runway. Additional capacity is likely to lead to around 8,000 additional on-site jobs by 2030.

Heathrow Airport: Noise

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of noise levels in each London borough resulting from the establishment of the Heathrow third runway.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Noise impacts of a three-runway airport at Heathrow were presented in the November 2007 consultation document and supporting technical report on noise, both of which are still available on the Department's website. The documents include a geographical presentation of noise contour details but do not provide figures by borough.

Highways Agency: Finance

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2009,  Official Report, column 300W, on motorways: repairs and maintenance, whether the £6 billion programme of national major schemes will be in addition to the annual budget for the Highways Agency programme of national major schemes;
	(2)  what the Highways Agency budget in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11,  (c) 2011-12 and  (d) 2012-13 is for national major road schemes.

Paul Clark: In our July 2008 document "Roads - Delivering Choice and Reliability" we announced that up to £6 billion was being made available for improvements to national strategic roads in England. On 15 January 2009, we announced which schemes this funding would support up to 2015. This funding is in addition to the provision for major improvements to regional strategic roads and other Highways Agency activities such as maintenance and the Traffic Officer Service.
	The budgets for the Highways Agency are set on an annual basis and published in their annual Business Plan. The 2009-10 Highways Agency Business Plan is due to be published by the end of March 2009. Precise budgets are subject to annual confirmation as part of determining overall public sector investment and the Highways Agency's business planning process.

Humber Bridge: Tolls

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the toll for the Humber Bridge was for a single car crossing in each year since the bridge was opened; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The toll for a single car crossing in each year since the bridge was opened is:
	
		
			   £ 
			 June 1981 to 31 December 1985 1.00 
			 1 January 1986 to 31 December 1987 1.20 
			 1 January 1988 to 6 August 1989 1.50 
			 7 August 1989 to 7 September 1997 1.60 
			 8 September 1997 to 31 March 1998 1.90 
			 1 April 1998 to 11 October 1998 2.10 
			 12 October 1998 to 31 March 2000 2.30 
			 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2002 2.40 
			 1 April 2002 to 23 April 2006 2.50 
			 24 April 2006 to present 2.70 
		
	
	This information is publicly available on the Humber Bridge website.

Kent

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much  (a) revenue payment,  (b) capital grant and  (c) supported borrowing funding has been made available by his Department to (i) Kent County Council, (ii) Thanet District Council and (iii) Dover District Council in 2008-09; and how much is planned in each case for 2009-10.

Paul Clark: The following tables show the transport capital and revenue funding the Department for Transport has allocated to Kent county council for 2008-09 and 2009-10. In county areas, funding is made to the upper tier authority. Allocations are not ring-fenced and local transport authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities.
	The tables indicate the proportion of capital allocations allowed for within the Department for Communities and Local Government's formula grant settlement as supported borrowing, and the proportion of grant provided by the Department. Figures shown are in £ millions.
	
		
			  Kent county council—capital funding 
			  £ million 
			   Integrated Transport(IT) Block  Highways Maintenance  (HM)  Proportion of IT and HM provided as supported borrowing (percentage)  Proportion of IT and HM provided as grant (percentage)  Other funding( 1)  (grant)  Total capital funding 
			 2009-10 14.627 25.775 35.575 4.827 0.516 40.918 
			 2008-09 13.383 23.972 32.560 4.795 0.553 37.908 
			 (1) Other capital funding comprises capital detrunking and capital road safety. 
		
	
	Most revenue expenditure on transport is supported through the Department for Communities and Local Government's formula grant, but the Department has made the following specific revenue grants to Kent county council:
	
		
			  Kent county council—specific revenue funding 
			  £ million 
			   Road safety revenue  Revenue detrunking  Specific bus grants( 1)  Total revenue funding 
			 2009-10 2.317 0.272 2.395 9.405 
			 2008-09 2.484 0.265 2.577 9.646 
			 (1) The figures comprise spend for the Urban Bus challenge (UBC), the Rural Bus Challenge (RBC), Kickstart bus projects and allocations for the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG). 
		
	
	The following table shows the allocations that the Department for Transport makes to Thanet and Dover district councils in respect of concessionary fares. (These authorities also receive additional concessionary fares funding through the Department for Communities and Local Government's formula grant.)
	
		
			  Concessionary fares funding( 1) 
			  £ million 
			   Thanet district council  Dover district council 
			 2009-10 0.540 0.340 
			 2008-09 0.520 0.330 
			 (1) Special grant allocation.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many petrol stations in West Chelmsford constituency have active liquefied petroleum gas pumps.

Jim Fitzpatrick: This information is not held centrally by Government. However, information on geographical locations is available on the UK LPG website at:
	www.drivelpq.co.uk

Local Authorities: Debt Collection

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 19 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 509-10W, on local authorities: debt collection, whether the powers for local authorities to use certified bailiffs to collect unpaid parking fines existed prior to the introduction of the 2007 regulations.

Paul Clark: The Road Traffic Act 1991 enabled London local authorities to use certificated bailiffs. These provisions have been replicated for authorities outside London through parking designation Orders made by the Secretary of State on an individual basis.

M6: Tolls

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles per day travelled between  (a) junctions 3 and 4,  (b) junctions 7 and 8,  (c) junctions 8 and 11a,  (d) junctions 11a and 15 of the M6 motorway and between  (e) junctions 3a and 7,  (f) junctions 7 and 9,  (g) junctions 9 and 10 of the M42, (i) for each of the five years before and (ii) each year after the opening to traffic of the M6 Toll.

Paul Clark: The following table shows available traffic figures for the specified lengths of the M6 and M42 for each of the five years before and after the opening of the M6 Toll in December 2003.
	
		
			  M6 
			   Junctions 3 and 4  Junctions 7 and 8  Junctions 8 and 11a  Junctions 11a and 15 
			   North bound  South bound  North bound  South bound  North bound  South bound  North bound  South bound 
			 1999 n/a n/a n/a n/a (1)59842 (1)59019 (1)55581 (1)56351 
			 2000 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2001 (2)49600 (2)50000 (1)53535 (1)55116 (2)77200 (2)73900 (2)45700 (1)46883 
			 2002 (1)47273 (2)50760 (2)57530 (2)58850 (2)72983 (2)71500 (2)53100 (2)52550 
			 2003 45963 48545 68489 59498 62174 55813 47556 48158 
			 2004 48105 49305 64616 51364 60231 54608 54965 55397 
			 2005 54835 50820 63507 55388 63341 58962 56581 57141 
			 2006 54746 55367 66961 55605 61927 56291 56192 56486 
			 2007 56428 57050 (1)71705 51285 63327 (2)58082 56042 56275 
			 2008 52063 52908 (1)71452 59152 60846 (1)61618 52817 53126 
		
	
	
		
			  M42 
			   Junctions 3a and 7  Junctions 7 and 9  Junctions 9 and 10 
			   North bound  South bound  North bound  South bound  North bound  South bound 
			 1999 n/a n/a (1)38947 (1)41756 (1)33988 (1)33600 
			 2000 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2001 n/a n/a n/a n/a (1)32822 (1)30409 
			 2002 (2)63500 (2)63300 (1)47544 (1)47587 (2)34300 (2)33200 
			 2003 (2)59500 (2)58800 n/a n/a 35165 33898 
			 2004 57354 57803 n/a 39405 34929 33277 
			 2005 61656 63087 n/a 47139 35892 34523 
			 2006 63304 65400 52509 46940 36184 34839 
			 2007 65137 66875 62686 (2)52050 37079 35828 
			 2008 61336 61908 61062 n/a 33874 32454 
			 n/a = not available All figures are from specific traffic counts, except: (1) denotes aggregated figure from a set period (2) Denotes estimated figure

Parking: Disabled

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department has taken to standardise the use of Blue Badges and dedicated disabled parking facilities across public and private car parks; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The Blue Badges scheme only applies to on-street parking. The provision of parking spaces in off-street car parks, whether local authority owned or privately owned, falls under the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995. In both types of car park, service providers need to ensure that they provide an adequate number of parking spaces for disabled people and that these spaces are readily available. The Department for Transport will be working with the British Retail Consortium and other stakeholders to support improved enforcement in car parks.

Railway Stations

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to improve the efficiency and delivery of larger station projects as part of the future delivery of the Railways for All Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: Setting efficiency targets for Network Rail activity is a function of the Office of Rail Regulation. The "Regulator's Period Review", published in October 2008, sets challenging targets for Network Rail to improve efficiency over the five year period from April 2009.
	Network Rail are moving towards a modular station design, and an integrated approach to station planning, in order to leverage efficiencies and minimise disruption to passengers during enhancement, renewal and maintenance works, including access for all.
	The Department for Transport is working closely with Network Rail to support initiatives which improve performance and delivery of station projects, and present opportunities to realise economies of scale.

Railway Stations: Yorkshire

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new rail stations are scheduled to be opened in Yorkshire in the next three years; what the location is of each; and what car parking provision is planned to be provided at each.

Paul Clark: Responsibility for promoting new stations rests primarily with local authorities and passenger transport executives (PTEs). The Department for Transport has received outline proposals for four new stations in the West Yorkshire PTE area at Apperley Bridge, Kirkstall Forge, Horsforth Woodside and Low Moor and one in the City of York area at Haxby.
	West Yorkshire PTE and the City of York council should be able to provide information on proposed opening dates and car parking provision at these stations.

Railway Track

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of sets of points are heated in the national rail network.

Paul Clark: This is an operational matter for Network Rail as the owner and operator of the national rail network. My hon. Friend should contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for a response to his question:
	Iain Coucher
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	Kings Place
	90 York Way
	London, N1 9AG

Railways

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how decisions are taken on whether Network Rail or train operating companies are used to deliver major projects.

Paul Clark: The majority of major rail projects are delivered by Network Rail as the company best able to undertake such tasks. It has ownership of the railway infrastructure and can co-ordinate such activities with its responsibility for both maintenance and renewal.
	Some smaller scale schemes are delivered by individual train operators, often where these form part of their franchise agreement obligations.

Railways

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of Railways for All projects have been delivered by  (a) Network Rail and  (b) train operating companies.

Paul Clark: So far 100 per cent. of the Access for All main schemes to reach completion have been delivered by Network Rail.
	Work has started on site for a station being delivered by a train operating company, but progress has been slower than anticipated and the delivery proportions as yet unaffected.
	Further opportunities for train operating company led delivery are being explored for projects reaching the design stage.

Railways

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the performance of  (a) Network Rail and  (b) train operating companies in delivering Railways for All projects, including Small Schemes fund projects.

Paul Clark: Assessment of Network Rail's efficiency is a function of the Office of Rail Regulation, which publishes independent monitoring of current projects. The most recent report, which includes assessment and recommendations for the Access for All programme is available on the Office of Rail Regulations' website at:
	http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/conrep-projmon07-Halcrow.pdf
	The Department for Transport works closely with Network Rail to monitor delivery of the programme, and is aware that initial progress has been slower than anticipated. Following an internal review in summer 2009, Network Rail put in place a revised contracting and delivery strategy, and delivery is now gaining momentum.
	Network Rail are excluded from bidding for Access for All Small Scheme funding, the majority of which has been awarded to Train Operating Companies and local authorities. Of the train operating company schemes, 96 per cent. of 505 station projects were completed in 2006-08, delivering enhancements to over 480 stations. A further 149 stations are due to receive enhancements by train operating companies by 31 March 2009, under the 2008-09 programme, 56 of which are currently complete.

Railways

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what matters were discussed at his recent meeting with the Association of Train Operating Companies and chief executives of the train operating companies; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, South (Mr. Harris) on 9 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1609W.

Railways: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements are in place to evaluate performance against the undertakings made by those bidding for rail franchises in terms of the disability element of franchise bids.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport's evaluation of franchise bids includes an assessment of compliance with the invitation to tender, which reflects the Department's equality of access policies.

Railways: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to ensure that the disability element of rail franchising is scored in accordance with the Government's disability equality duty.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport's evaluation of franchise bids includes an assessment of compliance with the invitation to tender which reflects the Department's equality of access policies.
	Details that bidders are required to submit include:
	compliance with their duties under the Disability Discrimination Act applicable to both stations and trains, including trains' compliance with time scales required in accordance with the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations;
	consultation process to identify and address the reasonable needs of disabled passengers concerning existing facilities and planned enhancements;
	procedures for the sale of tickets to disabled passengers;
	staff training in disability awareness.

Railways: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how local disability organisations are consulted on options for access improvements in major transport projects.

Paul Clark: Major transport project promoters are responsible for deciding how to consult with their local stakeholders, including disability organisations. If they are public bodies they have obligations under the disability equality duty to secure the views of a wide range of disabled people.

Railways: Franchises

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has agreed Transport for London's Metro Standards for the Southern Franchise; and whether he has had  (a) representations from and  (b) discussions with bidders for the Southern franchise on deferral of the bidding deadline.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport worked closely with Transport for London in the development of the South Central franchise. The Government franchise specification has a number of service and staffing enhancements that will deliver significant improvements in the London area.
	Alongside this, Transport for. London is funding a number of additional incremental enhancements that will bring the franchise specification nearer to the Metro standard aspired to by Transport for London.
	The Department's discussions with bidders during the bid preparation phase have not included consideration of an extension to this stage of the procurement process, and we have received no representations to this effect.

Rescue Services: Hope Cove

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to ensure that the Hope Cove lifeboat service is re-instated in time for the Easter weekend.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency's boat at Hope Cove may operate from 1 April 2009 in line with its standing instructions.

Road Traffic

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to amend the Traffic Management Act 2004 so that its provisions can be enforced in England on vehicles registered in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: We have no plans to amend the Traffic Management Act. Local authorities that follow the procedures set out in paragraph 10.66 of the Department for Transport's Operational Guidance to local authorities about parking policy and enforcement should have no difficulty in taking enforcement action against vehicles where the address of the registered keeper is in Scotland.

Roads: Freight

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has carried out on charges for foreign haulage vehicles to enter the UK; what estimate he has made of  (a) the maximum feasible charge per vehicle and  (b) the potential annual revenue to accrue from such charges; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport undertook a freight data feasibility study last year to identify realistic and legal options to deliver a database to link non-UK HGVs to their hauliers and enable enforcement agencies to better target their resources. This included consideration of a "vignette" scheme, a time-based user charging system.
	The study found that less than 11 Euros, on average, could be raised per foreign HGV per day under a vignette—due to the limitations imposed by the EU's E'urovignette Directive. Such a scheme offered a benefit to cost ratio of between 1.06 and 1.25 including 'optimism bias', with potential gross revenues of around £350 million over 10 years from non-UK hauliers.

Roads: Snow and Ice

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contingency reserves for salt and grit the Highways Agency has; for how many days of adverse weather conditions he estimates such supplies would last; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that supplies are adequate.

Paul Clark: holding answer 9 February 2009
	 The Highways Agency, for which the Department for Transport is responsible, operates a routine and winter service regime that requires its service providers to maintain sufficient supplies of salt for the treatment of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) for a continuous period of six capability days.
	In the present conditions of continuous severe weather, and the provision of mutual aid to local authorities, enabling them to treat local roads and routes onto and off the SRN, the Highways Agency will aim to have salt supplies for at least three capability days.
	Supplies for salt are being replenished by the Highways Agency's service providers suppliers, but the national demand is placing a strain on availability. The Highways Agency is fully engaged with these suppliers to ensure that supplies are being targeted towards areas of the network that have the highest demand and is itself marshalling its existing supplies of the salt, where this is practical, to ensure the continued availability of the network.

Roads: Snow and Ice

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much grit the Highways Agency holds; and how many days use this amount represents.

Paul Clark: holding answer 9 February 2009
	 The Highways Agency normally retains supplies of salt that enable treatment of the Strategic Road Network for a continuous period of six capability days.
	The volume of this equates to 85,000 cu m.
	In the current conditions, the Highways Agency will aim to have supplies for at least three capability days.

Transport

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the period served by the Ten Year Plan for Transport will end; what assessment he has made of the merits of drawing up a successor programme; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Department's approach to long-term strategic planning has been set out in the publications "Towards a Sustainable Transport System" and, more recently, "Delivering a Sustainable Transport System" which enhance the direction first set out in the 10-year plan.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Parking: Disabled

Roger Berry: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission 
	(1)  what provision is made for disabled holders of parliamentary passes to park in  (a) Star Chamber Court and  (b) Royal Court;
	(2)  how many disabled parking spaces there are on the Parliamentary Estate; and how many are reserved for disabled  (a) hon. Members and  (b) Members of the House of Lords.

Nick Harvey: There are four car parking spaces in Star Chamber Court which are reserved for the holders of blue disabled parking badges. Five car passes entitling the holder to park in Star Chamber Court have been issued; four of these are to Members. Parking in the House of Lords estate is a matter for that House.

WALES

Departmental Lobbying

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether Ministers in his Department received representations from  (a) Lord Moonie,  (b) Lord Taylor of Blackburn,  (c) Lord Snape and  (d) Lord Truscott in the last seven months.

Paul Murphy: No.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which ICT projects initiated by his Department were abandoned before completion in each year since 1997; what costs were incurred on each project; who the contractors were; what the date of  (a) commencement and  (b) abandonment was in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was created in June 2001. Prior to that, the provision of detailed project information was the responsibility of different Departments and agencies.
	Although the DWP does not have any discrete IT projects, it has a number of projects and programmes that include changes to, or new enabling, IT to a greater or lesser extent.
	At present the Department has over 200 change projects, a significant number of which have an IT element which is critical to the success of the project. The number of projects in train at any one time will vary and the duration of the project lifecycle is usually more than one calendar year.
	Provision of all information requested can be provided only at a disproportionate cost. We have provided such information as is readily available in the following table. This includes:
	those projects that have been formally abandoned before completion, in the last five years where the IT element is such that non-delivery of the IT would have significantly affected the project's ability to deliver the intended outcomes and where the investment in the project exceed £1 million;
	the investment costs incurred and the main IT contractors involved, where appointed; and
	the financial years in which the project commenced and was abandoned.
	
		
			  Project name  Main IT Contractor  Commencement  Abandonment  Investment expenditure  (£ million) 
			 Benefits Processing Replacement Programme(1) IBM—Solution Design Services 2004-05 2006-07 143.0 
			 Retirement Planner(2) Accenture—Solution Provider; EDS—Solution Operator 2003-04 2005-06 11.2 
			 Document Management None appointed at time of cancellation 2004-05 2006-07 1.4 
			 (1) BPRP: Of the total investment in BPRP, £73 million of the £143 million has been of continuing value to the Department. This is detailed in the Jobcentre Plus 2006-07 annual accounts. Part of the residual investment has been reimbursed to the Department, in work and kind, by the project's main contractor. (2) Retirement Planner: A closure date of 2004-05 was reported in a previous parliamentary question response. Ministerial agreement to suspend the project was finalised in 2005-06. (3) Including future commitments. 
		
	
	The costs of running the solutions implemented by the projects and programmes are not included as in the great majority of cases they are more than compensated for by the financial and non financial benefits they generate.
	Any initiatives that are associated with ongoing system improvements or enhancements as part of normal Departmental business are also excluded.

Departmental ICT

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what proportion of time each of his Department's 25 critical systems were available in each month in 2008.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information is not held in the format requested. The availability of the Department's IT systems is calculated in a service measurement period (SMP) and not on a monthly basis. This cycle is based on the fiscal year.
	The following information supplied shows the availability of the Department's top 25 IT systems covering the period from 14 January 2008 up to and including 11 January 2009.
	Each 'Top 25' system has reported 100 per cent. availability each reporting period in 2008 except where detailed as follows.
	
		
			  Application  SMP11 14/01/08 to 10/02/08  SMP12 11/02/08 to 16/03/08  SMP01 17/03/08 to 13/04/08  SMP02 14/04/08 to 11/05/08  SMP03 12/05/08 to 15/06/08  SMP04 16/06/08 to 13/07/08 
			 FRAIMS 100.00 99.77 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Messaging 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Local Payment System (LPS) 100.00 99.76 99.97 100.00 99.91 100.00 
			 Programming Accounting System (PACS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Resource Management (RM) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 99.47 99.02 
			 Customer Management System (CMS) 99.26 99.86 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Incapacity Allowance (INCAP) 100.00 100.00 99.74 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Income Support GB (ISCS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Job Points 100.00 99.19 100.00 100.00 100.00 99.63 
			 Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Labour Market System (LMS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Social Fund (SFCS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Employer Direct Online (EDON)(1) — — 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Housing Benefit Subsidy Data Collection (HBSDC) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Employment Support Application (ESA)(2) — — — — — — 
			 Customer information Service (CIS) 99.63 99.97 100.00 100.00 100.00 99.58 
			 Pension Forecasting System (PFS) 100.00 99.89 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Pension Services GB (PSCS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Pension Services NI (PSCS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Pension Transformation Programme (PTP) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 99.66 100.00 
			 CA 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Disability Living Allowance (DLA)/Attendance Allowance (AA) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Child Support (CSCS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 99.79 100.00 100.00 
			 CS2 100.00 99.85 99.90 99.87 99.99 100.00 
			 CSA DMS 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
		
	
	
		
			  Application  SMP05 14/07/08 to 10/08/08  SMP06 11/08/08 to 14/09/08  SMP07 15/09/08 to 12/10/08  SMP08 13/10/08 to 09/11/08  SMP0 9  10 / 11 /08 to  14 / 12 /08  SMP10 15/12/08 to 11/01/09 
			 FRAIMS 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Messaging 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Local Payment System (LPS) 100.00 99.78 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Programming Accounting System (PACS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Resource Management (RM) 100.00 98.69 98.07 100.00 99.92 99.82 
			 Customer Management System (CMS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Incapacity Allowance (INCAP) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Income Support GB (ISCS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Job Points 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Labour Market System (LMS) 100.00 99.76 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Social Fund (SFCS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Employer Direct Online (EDON)(1) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Housing Benefit Subsidy Data Collection (HBSDC) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Employment Support Application (ESA)(2) — — — — 99.88 100.00 
			 Customer information Service (CIS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 99.98 
			 Pension Forecasting System (PFS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Pension Services GB (PSCS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 98.59 
			 Pension Services NI (PSCS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Pension Transformation Programme (PTP) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 CA 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10Q.00 
			 Disability Living Allowance (DLA)/Attendance Allowance (AA) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 Child Support (CSCS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 CS2 100.00 99.15 99.98 97.14 97.71 99.46 
			 CSA QMS 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
			 (1 )Employer Direct Online (EDON) only became one of the top 25 critical systems from SMP 01. (2) Employment Support Application (ESA) went live in October 2008 SMP08

Jobcentre Plus: Closures

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a list of each Jobcentre Plus office that has closed in each year since 2002, including  (a) the full address,  (b) the date on which the office closed,  (c) a description of the services the office offered and  (d) details of the number of staff employed in the office prior to closure, broken down by type of staff; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking if he will place in the Library a list of each Jobcentre Plus office that has closed in each year since 2002, including (a) the full address, (b) the date on which the office closed, (c) a description of the services the office offered and (d) details of the number of staff employed in the office prior to closure, broken down by type of staff. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Information is centrally available for the year that each office closed but not the actual date. The date provided is when the building is disposed of and ceases to be a financial liability to Jobcentre Plus. This can be up to 12 months following closure to the public.
	The final date of closure of an office to the public is managed locally and will be adjusted to support a managed and gradual migration of the services delivered by that office to alternative locations. As a result of this gradual migration, there is no information available that details the services being delivered by an office immediately prior to closure, as well as the number of staff employed in each office prior to closure.
	I have placed the available information in the Library.

Pension Credit: Nottinghamshire

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households were in receipt of pension credit in each parliamentary constituency in Nottinghamshire in  (a) November 2003 and  (b) May 2008.

Rosie Winterton: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Households in receipt of pension credit in each parliamentary constituency in Nottinghamshire 
			   November 2003  May 2008 
			 Ashfield 3,550 5,180 
			 Bassetlaw 3,190 4,400 
			 Broxtowe 2,540 3,630 
			 Gedling 2,690 3,700 
			 Mansfield 3,040 4,300 
			 Newark 3,250 4,260 
			 Rushcliffe 2,330 3,200 
			 Sherwood 2,530 3,800 
			  Notes: 1. The number of households in receipt is rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.  Source: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data

Pension Protection Fund

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how long the average assessment period for defined benefit schemes was for those who applied to the Pension Protection Fund in the 2007-08 levy year; and how many assessments exceeded the average period.

Rosie Winterton: In the 2007-08 levy year 114 schemes cases entered the PPF assessment period. Of those schemes, 15 have exited the process due to the scheme being rescued or, following further investigation, being deemed ineligible and subsequently withdrawn. No schemes that entered assessment in the 2007-08 levy year have yet transferred into the PPF.
	Historically it has taken an average of seven years to wind up pension schemes in the UK. Against this background the PPF has set a challenging target of 75 per cent. of schemes, and schemes covering 75 per cent. of members, completing the assessment period within two years. By law, the Pension Protection Fund assessment period must last a minimum of one year before a scheme can transfer to the PPF, and could be longer, depending on the complexity of the financial situation of both the employer and the scheme.

Pensioners: Winter Fuel Payments

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Government has spent on help for pensioners with fuel bills in each year since 1991.

Rosie Winterton: The Government have implemented a number of measures to assist older people with their fuel bills, including winter fuel payments and cold weather payments.
	Information relating to the expenditure on winter fuel payments and cold weather payments is provided in the following tables.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Expenditure on winter fuel payments (GB)  Expenditure on cold weather payments (GB)( 1) 
			 1991-92 n/a 23 
			 1992-93 n/a 15 
			 1993-94 n/a 12 
			 1994-95 n/a (2)— 
			 1995-96 n/a 62 
			 1996-97 n/a 42 
			 1997-98 191 1 
			 1998-99 194 (2)— 
			 1999-2000 759 1 
			 2000-01 1,749 30 
			 2001-02 1,681 15 
			 2002-03 1,705 14 
			 2003-04 1,916 4 
			 2004-05 1,962 2 
			 2005-06 1,982 8 
			 2006-07 2,015 3 
			 2007-08 2,071 4 
			 (1) Figures for winter fuel payments are for people aged 60 and over. Figures for cold weather payments are the total expenditure paid to all client groups. It is not possible to split cold weather payment expenditure between pensioners and others. For 2008-09, the proportion of benefit units eligible for cold weather payments which included a pensioner is 63 per cent. (Source: based on analysis of Quarterly Statistical Enquiries and Tax Credit data.) (2) Amount below £0.5 million.  Source: DWP Accounting Data 
		
	
	This year the winter fuel payment has increased from £200 to £250 for households with someone aged 60-79 and from £300 to £400 for households with some aged 80 or over.
	This year there is also a temporary increase in cold weather payments from £8.50 to £25.
	Since 1997, VAT on fuel and power dropped from 8 per cent. to 5 per cent. This reduced a typical customer's bill by around £16 per year at a cost to the Government of £450 million per year.
	Since 2000 the Government have spent £1.85 billion on the warm front scheme which provides grants to help people on low incomes, including pensioners, with energy efficiency measures.

Post Office Card Account

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost to his Department, excluding claims for compensation, of the tendering and bidding process for the Post Office card account.

Rosie Winterton: It is not possible to give the full costs incurred by DWP on the procurement exercise. The direct salary costs (including on-costs) of the staff who worked full-time on this exercise, which extended over a 22 month period, were some £700,000. Some of these costs would have been incurred in any event to put in place a new contract with the Post Office had it been decided originally that it should be renewed. In addition, a number of other staff contributed to the procurement process alongside their other duties.

Post Office Card Account

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 19 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 561-62W, on the Post Office card account, if he will take steps to make the best possible estimate of the cost to his Department of the tendering and bidding process for the Post Office card account; and what information his Department holds on the costs of the processes.

Rosie Winterton: I wrote to the hon. Member on 9 December 2008. As I said in my letter, it is not possible to give the full costs incurred by DWP on the procurement exercise. The direct salary costs (including on-costs) of the staff who worked full-time on this exercise, which extended over a 22-month period, were some £700,000. Some of these costs would have been incurred in any event to put in place a new contract with the Post Office had it been decided originally that it should be renewed. In addition, a number of other staff contributed to the procurement process alongside their other duties.

State Retirement Pensions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value of the additional pension paid at the age of 80 would be if it had been indexed to  (a) earnings and  (b) prices since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The value of the age addition, paid at age 80, if indexed to  (a) earnings and  (b) prices since 1997, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Pence 
			   Indexed to earnings  Indexed to prices 
			 1998 26 26 
			 1999 27 27 
			 2000 29 27 
			 2001 30 28 
			 2002 31 28 
			 2003 32 29 
			 2004 34 30 
			 2005 35 31 
			 2006 37 31 
			 2007 38 33 
			 2008 39 34 
			  Note: The indices used to link to earnings and prices are the average earnings index and the retail prices index, respectively.  Source: Office for National Statistics

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with commoners' associations on permitting them to act as the vehicle for the allocation of single farm payments on common land.

Jane Kennedy: As a result of recent discussions with commoners' associations further consideration is being given to this issue.

Birds: Nature Conservation

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2009,  Official Report, column 707W, on birds: nature conservation, if he will take steps to monitor the effectiveness of sales controls provided for in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as measures to protect species removed from Schedule 4.

Huw Irranca-Davies: holding answer 9 February 2009
	My Department considers it would be disproportionate to monitor sales of non-CITES species sold under a general licence, especially when the numbers of birds in captivity and demand by aviculturalists is relatively low, and evidence of illegal taking is negligible for the species.
	Should any evidence come to light to the contrary, we would consider what steps to take in conjunction with advice from Natural England.

Carbon Emissions

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 28 October 2008,  Official Report, column 846W, on carbon emissions, what the timetable is for the completion of the navigator waste infrastructure research study.

Jane Kennedy: It is anticipated that the executive summary of the Navigator study will be completed by spring 2009.

Departmental Advertising

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on advertising in  (a) the last 12 months and  (b) 1997.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The figures as follows shows how much DEFRA has spent through COI on campaign advertising in the last 12 months.
	 ACT ON CO 2 advertising
	From January 2008—March 2008 the ACT ON CO2 spend was approximately £685,000 (press and online advertising).
	From April 2008 to December 2008 the ACT ON CO2 spend was approximately £6,700,000 (TV, press, radio and digital advertising).
	 Other D EFRA advertising
	Spend on non-ACT ON CO2 advertising over the last 12 months comes to £137,100:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Cattle disposal 9,000 
			 Ecolabelling 8,100 
			 Reach 120,000 
		
	
	Advertisements placed via the DEFRA recruitment and statutory advertising contract for the period January 2008 to December 2009:
	 Recruitment advertising—£381,019.29
	 Statutory advertising—£70,851.76
	All figures include fees and are exclusive of VAT.
	As a number of DEFRA's recruitment adverts are placed through the Cabinet Office framework as part of a whole advertising campaign (campaigns can include the preparation of application packs, advertisements, sifting and assessments) it is not possible to split out the advertising element at a proportionate cost.
	DEFRA was formed in June 2001. Information on the advertising spend of legacy departments is not held centrally and could only be collated at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Air Travel

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 21 October 2008,  Official Report, column 162W, on departmental air travel, if he will place in the Library figures for 2007-08.

Huw Irranca-Davies: From information held centrally, 2007-2008 air travel mileage figures available currently for all Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF) participants are as follows:
	
		
			  Participant  Domestic miles  Short-haul miles  Long-haul miles  Total miles 
			 DfID 2,442,620 3,925,809 42,143,843 48,512,272 
			 MoD 1,482,742 8,013,589 34,520,713 44,017,044 
			 Red Arrows tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 HMRC 13,803,977 1,885,521 2,435,769 18,125,267 
			 VOA 67,078 6,180 32,297 105,554 
			 BERR 1,850,032 2,798,771 11,157,261 15,806,064 
			 HO 3,096,510 1,616,014 3,956,040 8,668,564 
			 IPS tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 CRB tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 PS tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 FSS tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 DWP 7,825,984 650,331 867,756 9,344,071 
			 HMT 1,568,881 249,645 916,195 2,734,720 
			 DEFRA 3,612,104 2,486,524 5,204,594 11,303,222 
			 CEFAS tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 DCMS tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 DH 413,688 576,208 1,456,328 2,446,224 
			 CO 183,400 7,400,286 2,466,762 10,050,448 
			 No.10 tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 DfT 693,997 821,311 1,939,471 3,454,778 
			 RH tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 GCDA tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 DCLG 98,617 297,057 195,831 591,505 
			 DfES tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 LOD 63,425 395,429 1,053,994 1,512,848 
			 CPS (LOD) tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 SFO (LOD) tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 RCPO (LOD) tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 AGO (LOD) tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 HMCPSI (LOD) tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 Tsol (LOD) tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 NIO 1,992,239 60,536 160,637 2,213,412 
			 MoJ tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 TLR 13,842 25,650 99,170 138,663 
			 TTBC 27,958 49,171 222,404 299,532 
			 ECGD tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 Parl HC 1,049,576 1,072,394 2,674,252 4,796,222 
			 BAPG tbc tbc 121,271 121,271 
			 Parl HL 177,949 249,940 419,955 847,844 
			 TRS 9,180 0 0 9,180 
			 GLA tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 MPS tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 TfL 54,569 690,967 1,458,757 2,204,293 
			 LDA tbc tbc tbc tbc 
			 SDC tbc tbc tbc tbc 
		
	
	As the deadline for returns is 30 April 2009, the abbreviation TBC used is to signify where finalised returns are yet to be confirmed/supplied.

Departmental Lobbying

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether Ministers in his Department received representations from  (a) Lord Moonie,  (b) Lord Taylor of Blackburn,  (c) Lord Snape and  (d) Lord Truscott in the last seven months.

Huw Irranca-Davies: No Ministers in DEFRA have received representations from any of these peers over the past seven months.

Departmental Working Hours

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the policy of his Department and its agencies is on granting staff time off in lieu for working  (a) in lunch breaks,  (b) in evenings and  (c) at other times outside contracted working hours; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA and its agencies operate 'flexi time' arrangements that allow staff to take time off in lieu for working above their contracted hours. This would include time off for working during lunch breaks and in the evenings.

Departmental Working Hours

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many days off in lieu were granted to staff in  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) its non-departmental public bodies for working (i) in lunch breaks and (ii) at other times outside contracted working hours, in the last year for which figures are available.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA and its agencies operate 'flexi time' arrangements. With the exception of CEFAS and CSL this policy allows staff to take up to three days time off in lieu per four week period for hours worked above their contractual hours. CEFAS and CSL currently allow their staff to take up to two days time off in lieu per four week period.
	The working hours of employees is not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the working arrangements of DEFRA's NDPB's is not available centrally.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the number of household waste bins fitted with radio frequency identification chips;
	(2)  what  (a) advice and  (b) guidance (i) his Department and (ii) the Waste and Resources Action Programme has given on the use of radio frequency identification devices attached to household waste containers.

Jane Kennedy: No such estimate has been made by DEFRA and neither DEFRA nor WRAP have issued any advice or guidance on the use of radio frequency identification devices.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the final report of the research project  (a) WR0103—Household Waste Prevention Policy Side Research Programme,  (b) WR0104—Lifestyle Scenarios: Futures for Waste Composition,  (c) WR0106—Achieving Household Waste Prevention and Promoting Sustainable Resource Use Through Product Service Systems and  (d) WR0506—Benefits of Third Sector Involvement in Waste Management.

Jane Kennedy: The projects (WR0103) 'Household Waste Prevention Policy Side Research Programme' and (WR0104) 'Lifestyle Scenarios: Futures for Waste Composition' referred to in the reply to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 18 November 2008,  Official Report, column 303W, on Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal, are publicly available on DEFRA's website.
	The draft final report for project (WR0506) 'Benefits of third sector involvement in waste management' was received by DEFRA at the beginning of December. Comments and feedback on the draft are being collated prior to the project team completing a finalised version ready for publication before the end of March. The published report will be made publicly available on DEFRA's website.
	Project report (WR0106) 'Achieving Household Waste Prevention and Promoting Sustainable Resource Use Through Product Service Systems' is proceeding through publication clearance procedures and will be made publicly available on DEFRA's website as soon as this is completed.

Economic Situation

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with outside organisations to discuss policy on reducing the effect of the recession on matters within his Department's responsibility.

Huw Irranca-Davies: As one would expect, the Secretary of State, Ministers and officials have regular engagements with outside organisations and other Government Departments on a broad range of issues, many of which naturally incorporate discussion relating to the economy.
	A list of the individual discussions could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Eco-Towns

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions  (a) he and  (b) his officials have had with (i) Ministerial colleagues and (ii) officials in the Department of Communities and Local Government on the siting of proposed eco-towns on land with environmental stewardship status.

Huw Irranca-Davies: 33 eco-town proposals have been subjected to a cross-Government review process in which DEFRA, the Environment Agency and Natural England played a full role alongside Communities and Local Government. This review considered the potential environmental impacts of each proposal in terms of water supply, wastewater treatment, water quality, flood risk management, waste management, biodiversity and landscape. A number of the eco-town proposals reviewed included land under Environmental Stewardship.

Environment Protection: Landfill

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which body is responsible for monitoring the  (a) environmental impact of  (b) adherence to gate-keeping procedures at landfill sites.

Jane Kennedy: The Environment Agency is the relevant regulator for England and Wales in respect of landfill sites, including monitoring of the environmental impact and adherence to gate-keeping procedures.

Farms: Income

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average farm income was in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland,  (c) Wales and  (d) Northern Ireland for each of the last 10 years.

Jane Kennedy: Information on the average Farm Business Income and Net Farm Income in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, for each of the last 10 years, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Average farm business income 
			  £ per farm 
			  March to February  England  Wales  Northern Ireland 
			 1998/99 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1999-2000 n/a n/a n/a 
			 2000-01 n/a n/a n/a 
			 2001-02 n/a n/a n/a 
			 2002-03 n/a n/a n/a 
			 2003-04 36,800 23,400 14,300 
			 2004-05 28,300 21,900 15,500 
			 2005-06 28,600 20,200 17,300 
			 2006-07 34,400 21,600 18,100 
			 2007/08 48,100 26,500 30,100 
			  n/a = not available  Source:  Farm Business Survey(1) 1 The FBS sample covers businesses with a Standard Labour Requirement (SLR) of at least 0.5, i.e. a size considered sufficient to occupy a farmer for at least half their time. 
		
	
	Farm Business Income is the headline measure of the profitability of farm businesses. It represents the financial return to all unpaid labour (farmers and spouses, non-principal partners and directors and their spouses and family workers) and on all their capital invested in the farm business, including land and buildings. It is not available for years before 2003-04 given the way that data were recorded in earlier years. Scotland are in the process of adapting their Farm Business Survey to derive equivalent data.
	
		
			  Average net farm income 
			  £ per farm 
			  March to February  England  Wales  Scotland  Northern Ireland 
			 1998-99 11,500 6,200 4,300 2,200 
			 1999-2000 8,700 6,000 3,900 1,100 
			 2000-01 10,600 5,900 6,000 5,800 
			 2001-02 14,900 9,300 12,400 8,300 
			 2002-03 16,600 14,100 9,600 4,500 
			 2003-04 29,500 15,800 19,800 8,700 
			 2004-05 21,200 14,200 13,100 9,400 
			 2005-06 21,100 12,200 10,800 10,100 
			 2006-07 26,700 12,100 19,800 10,400 
			 2007-08 38,600 18,400 29,800 22,600 
		
	
	Net farm income is defined as the return to the principal farmer and spouse for their manual and managerial labour and on the tenant type capital of the business. It is net of an imputed rental charge on owned land and an imputed charge for unpaid labour.

Fines

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what administrative financial penalties may be levied by his Department and its agencies.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA (the core Department) does not have authority to levy financial penalties without the need to resort to court proceedings.
	The Environment Agency, a non-departmental public body, can levy fixed penalty notices under the following legislation:
	Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005
	The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005
	The Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007
	The Site Waste Management Plans Regulations 2008
	The Environment Agency is also responsible for imposing civil penalties under the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2005 in England and Wales.
	The Marine and Fisheries Agency has authority to impose administrative financial penalties for fisheries offences under the Sea Fishing(Enforcement of Community Measures)(Penalty Notices) Order 2008, SI 2008 No 984.
	Due to the large number and the complexity of schemes administered by the Rural Payments Agency, I have instructed the Chief Executive to reply to you by letter.

Fisheries: Licensing

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will change the Single Area Licence requirement on Brixham fishermen to enable Brixham boats to be inspected at sea or at their nearest port of call before moving from one fishing area to another.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Single Area Licence condition was introduced to the South West beam trawl fleet in November 2008 and was considered necessary in order to safeguard the stocks of sole in the West Channel. This is of particular concern in International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) division Vile* where there is clear evidence of misrecording of area of capture, which has been admitted by industry representatives. The amount of quota available for fishing for sole in Vile* is quite limited compared to other areas and was cut by a further 15 per cent. this year on scientific advice. Catching sole in Vile*, and declaring that it is caught in another sector, will further deplete precious stocks and give false data to the scientists.
	The new condition was discussed with fishing industry representatives prior to its introduction, and care was taken to try to ensure that it was workable and would have the desired effect. The condition sets out that beam trawler operators are prohibited from fishing in Vile* and any other ICES division in the same trip. They are also obliged to inform the call centre in advance of leaving port whether they intend to fish in Vile* or in any other ICES division. The scheme has worked well and the industry are complying with the condition. It has been agreed that a formal review will take place after six months of running, and the Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA) are maintaining close liaison with industry representatives on this measure.
	The MFA have limited resources to inspect at sea across the whole of English and Welsh waters using the Royal Navy Fishing Protection Squadron. This resource is used to target vessels which pose the highest risk of non compliance, including visiting community vessels as well as UK vessels. It would be a poor use of resource to task the Navy to inspect very limited areas of operations in order to concentrate on checking vessels at boundaries between fishing areas for compliance with this particular licence condition.
	There is nothing in the licence condition that requires Brixham boats to return to Brixham to land their catch prior to setting out to fish in another area. If the master or owner of a vessel wishes to amend the area of fishing, there is a requirement to come into a fishing port before any notification for a change of area can be made, but this does not need to be the home fishing port. If fishing has taken place however, any fish retained onboard must be landed before this notification is made. This element of the measure was introduced so that we can be sure that the fish retained onboard can only be from one ICES area, and hence, the risk of the ability to misreport the area of capture is reduced.
	Vile*—the exact area where the restriction applies called 'relevant area' is clearly mapped out in the licence condition.

Fisheries: Quotas

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will carry out a mid-year review of the reduction in quota levels for 7e sole in the light of new scientific advice; and what recent assessment he has made of the effect of quota levels on the livelihoods of fishermen in the south-west.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The International Council for the Exploration for the Sea (ICES) provides scientific advice to the European Commission and member states for the management of EU fish stocks. Since agreement was reached on total allowable catches and quotas for 2009 there has been no new advice concerning 7e sole. Once new information becomes available I will give it my full consideration.
	I fully recognise that the loss of sole quota impacts on fishers' in the south-west. Based on average 2008 prices, this year's cut in the UK quota of 68t, is valued at approximately £500,000. However, this does not take account of fluctuations in price and catches of other species.
	I am keen for my officials to continue to work with representatives of the south-west fishing industry. They have, therefore, agreed to meet throughout the year to explore the scope for developing a strategy for 7e sole based on the latest evidence.

Floods: EU Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he has made on implementation of the EU Floods Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: We intend to consult on arrangements for implementing the directive in England this spring, as part of the draft Floods and Water Bill.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications for recognition under the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme since 2004 were received from producer organisations; and how many of these were  (a) approved,  (b) rejected and  (c) withdrawn.

Jane Kennedy: 34 applications for recognition under the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Aid scheme were received from producer organisations since 2004.
	Of these, 24 were approved, nine were rejected and one was withdrawn.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money has been allocated from the Environmental Action Fund for the construction of zero-carbon housing.

Jane Kennedy: The conditions of the Environmental Action Fund did not allow grant funding for construction work. It did support several projects by voluntary and community sector organisations which encouraged sustainable consumption in the construction industry, among building professionals, communities or householders/buyers.
	Examples of Government support to the house-building sector for the construction of zero carbon housing are: the Zero Carbon Hub, the Carbon Challenge Programme and the Low Impact Building Innovation Platform.

Incinerators: EC Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of levels of compliance of emissions from energy from waste plants with the EU Waste Incineration Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Operators of waste incineration plants are required to comply with permits under the terms of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 which implement the Waste Incineration Directive (2000/76/EC). Assessment of compliance, and consideration of enforcement action in the event of non-compliance, are matters for the relevant environmental regulator.

Landfill: EC Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of  (a) the financial and economic impact of the EU Landfill Directive,  (b) the costs of meeting the targets contained in the Directive by 2010 and  (c) the likely cost to the public purse should the UK fail to meet the requirements of the Directive.

Jane Kennedy: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The financial and economic impact of the EU Landfill Directive in England and Wales was considered in a regulatory impact assessment (RIA) included in the consultation on the implementation of the Landfill Directive in 2001.
	 (b) The costs of meeting the 2010 landfill diversion targets were estimated in the RIA on the implementation of the landfill provisions of the Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003. The RIA identified three options that would meet the requirements as well as a business as usual base position.
	 (c) Failure to meet the requirements of the Landfill Directive would leave the UK open to infraction proceedings under EC law.

Mass Media

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of his Department's contracts with press monitoring services was in each of the last five years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) has provided media monitoring services as follows to DEFRA:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 53,000 
			 2006-07 54,150 
			 2007-08 62,700 
			 2008-09 70,000 
		
	
	We do not hold records for MMU costs in 2004-05.
	Durrants provides DEFRA with a daily cuttings service at the following cost per calendar year:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005 66,843 
			 2006 137,911 
			 2007 152,397 
			 2008 to date 136,777 
		
	
	We do not hold records for Durrants costs in 2004-05.
	DEFRA also subscribes to the Press Association newswire monitoring service at the following cost:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 4,000 
			 2005-06 4,136 
			 2006-07 4,237 
			 2007-08 4,402 
			 2008-09 4,391 
		
	
	In addition since May 2008 DEFRA has used the transcript service of Wordsworth at a cost to date of £8,705.
	All figures quoted exclude VAT.

Nature Conservation

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans his Department has to strengthen the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species licensing system following the recent changes to Schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I do not propose to make any specific changes to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) licensing system. However my officials have recently strengthened our compliance team with the secondment of a serving police officer.
	This has enabled CITES licensing to improve the service they offer to law enforcement agencies and to integrate the procedures fully into those of the police national intelligence model and the overall UK strategic assessment of wildlife crime.

Nitrate Vulnerable Zones

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of simultaneous discharges of slurry in nitrate vulnerable zones at the end of the closed season; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Stakeholders raised concerns in response to a consultation about the potential for a "national muck spreading day" either just before or just after the closed season. To address their concerns and to manage the risk of less attention being paid to ground conditions at a time when there is a higher risk of soil damage or run-off, a provision was included in the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2008 which set a maximum application rate and minimum return period between the end of the closed season and the end of February. This is in addition to a number of other measures in the regulations which are aimed at reducing the risk of a national muck-spreading day occurring.

Oils: Waste Disposal

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the volume of used cooking oil that has been disposed of in landfill sites in each year since 1997.

Jane Kennedy: No such estimate has been made by DEFRA.

Packaging

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions his Department has held with retailers and manufacturers in the last 12 months on reducing excess packaging.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA is in discussion with retailers and manufacturers through a voluntary agreement between industry and Government called the Courtauld Commitment. There have been a number of meetings over the past 12 months to discuss the issue of excess packaging. In 2008 the Courtauld Commitment successfully achieved its objective of stopping growth in grocery retail packaging, and signatories are now working towards their second aim of reducing the amount of packaging used by 2010. Discussions are under way to agree further reduction targets for the post-2010 commitment.

Packaging: EC Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made in implementing the EU Packaging Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The UK has fully implemented the requirements of the EU Packaging Directive via the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations and the Essential Requirements Regulations.

Pollution Prevention Control Regulations 2000

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to implement  (a) the Pollution Prevention Control Regulations 2000 and  (b) the pollution control regime set up under Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Jane Kennedy: The Pollution Prevention Control Regulations 2000 and the pollution control regime set up under part 1 of the Environment Act 1990 have been replaced by the Environment Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007. These came into force on 6 April 2008 and are fully implemented.

Poverty: Rural Areas

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government have taken to address rural poverty.

Huw Irranca-Davies: holding answer 3 February 2009
	National cross-cutting policies to address poverty apply to both urban and rural areas and are the responsibility of a number of Government Departments such as the Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Communities and Local Government and Customs and Revenue.
	DEFRA's role is to encourage other departments and agencies to understand the rural dimension to their policies and programmes. DEFRA also funds the Commission for Rural Communities to advise all Government Departments on the needs of people living and working in rural England, with a particular focus on tackling disadvantage.

Public Footpaths

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultations  (a) he and  (b) Natural England have had with Visit Britain on Natural England's review of national trails and routes.

Huw Irranca-Davies: My officials are aware of Natural England's review of national trails and routes.
	Natural England has consulted VisitEngland (formerly VisitBritain) about its review and it has been actively involved throughout all stages of the review. It is represented on a small steering group of major stakeholders which has advised and contributed to every aspect of the review from agreeing the scope, gathering, analysing and challenging the evidence, refining recommendations and consulting with tourism, user group, landowner and local authority interests. VisitEngland also attended a national consultation event.

Recycling

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what changes the Environment Agency has made to rules on the storage of recyclable wastes as a consequence of the reduction in market demand for recycled products.

Jane Kennedy: An Environment Agency position statement regarding the storage of recyclables was issued on 11 November 2008 and is available on their website.

Recycling

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to set targets for local authorities on the recycling of trade waste; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: No specific targets have been set for the recycling of trade waste.

Recycling

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many councils he expects to meet their targets for recycling of household waste by 2020; and what assistance is available to local authorities to meet such targets.

Jane Kennedy: Individual local authorities do not have targets set in 2020 for recycling household waste.

Waste Disposal

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the amount of trade waste collected by  (a) local authorities and  (b) private waste contractors under licence in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: No such estimate has been made by DEFRA.

Waste Disposal

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the average cost to local authorities in  (a) rural and  (b) urban areas of separating household and trade waste by weight in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: No such estimate has been made by DEFRA.

Waste Disposal: Climate Change

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the waste provisions of the Climate Change Act 2008 to be implemented; and what assessment he has made of the financial and economic effects of those provisions on  (a) households and  (b) businesses.

Jane Kennedy: Powers in the Climate Change Act allow up to five local authorities in England to pilot household waste incentives schemes. No local authorities have so far expressed an interest in taking up these powers. The powers are of course voluntary and were introduced in response to requests from local government.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 14 January 2008,  Official Report, column 870W, on waste disposal: domestic waste, whether a decision has been made on which body will evaluate pilot schemes for household waste incentive schemes.

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether an organisation has been appointed to carry out the evaluation of pilot schemes for charges for collection of household waste.

Jane Kennedy: No organisation has been appointed. I refer the hon. Members to the written statement I made on household waste incentives on 22 January 2009,  Official Report, column 40WS.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fixed penalty notices for waste receptacle offences were issued in 2007-08; and how much was collected as a result.

Jane Kennedy: Figures for fixed penalty notices for waste receptacle offences issued in 2007-08 are not yet available.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what records are required to be kept on the issue of fixed penalty notices to juveniles for waste receptacle offences.

Jane Kennedy: Figures collected from local authorities on fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued for waste receptacle offences are not broken down by the age of the offender.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what date his Department has set for local authorities to submit bids to pilot charges for the collection of household waste; and how many bids his Department has received.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement I made on household waste incentives, 22 January 2009,  Official Report, column 40WS.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the presentation on waste incentive pilot schemes given by Ms Sarah Fisher from his Department's waste strategy division to the Thames Valley Waste Forum on 4 April 2008.

Jane Kennedy: The presentation is available on the Thames Valley Waste Forum website.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on charges for the collection of household waste.

Jane Kennedy: No such discussions have taken place.

Waste Disposal: Private Finance Initiative

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many local authorities have met the criteria for the Government's private finance initiative programme to establish waste disposal projects;
	(2)  how much private finance initiative funding is available for energy from waste projects in England in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Jane Kennedy: To date, £2.02 billion private finance initiative (PFI) credits have been committed to 33 local authority projects, all of which have met the required criteria.
	There are an additional 11 projects in the application process, for which it is expected a further £1.18 billion PFI credits could be awarded.
	The comprehensive spending review 2007 provided DEFRA with additional funding (totalling £2 billion) through PFI to provide further investment in waste infrastructure, of which £600 million is for 2008-09 and £700 million for the years 2009-10 and 2010-11.

Water Charges

Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received from churches on new charging systems for surface water drainage; and what his response to those representations has been.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for South Ribble (Mr. Borrow) on 15 January 2009,  Official Report, column 887W.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Anti-terrorism Control Orders

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the seven individuals who have absconded from control orders have been arrested or otherwise located and returned to control.

Vernon Coaker: In relation to the locations and status of the seven individuals who have absconded from control orders, I would refer the hon. Member to written ministerial statements in relation to control orders published on 11 December 2006, 16 January 2007, 22 March 2007, 24 May 2007, 21 June 2007 (two statements), 17 September 2007 and 13 March 2008. These statements give as much information as we can provide about the individuals concerned given the national security sensitivities of these cases and the need to avoid publishing any information that could lead to the identification of an individual who is subject to an anonymity order.

Apprentices

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 11 June 2008,  Official Report, column 332W, on apprentices, how many apprentices her Department employs.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office HQ, United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA), Identity and Passport Service (IPS), and the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) are participating in the Government Skills Apprenticeships Pathfinder Programme and data on the overall take up is collated centrally. There are currently 260 members of staff registered with an apprentice provider under this programme, and a further 76 applications are being processed.
	Data about other staff taking apprenticeships outside of this programme are not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Asylum

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of applications for asylum in 2007-08 was made by people entering the UK from  (a) another EU member state and  (b) a country outside the EU.

Phil Woolas: The requested information, which may not be available in all cases, could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
	Information on asylum is published annually and quarterly. Q4 2008 statistics will be available on 24 February 2009 from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Asylum: Finance

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have qualified for an integration loan from the UK Border Agency under  (a) refugee status and  (b) humanitarian protection criteria in (i) 2007 and (ii) 2008.

Phil Woolas: Between 11 June 2007 (when the integration loan scheme started) and the end of December 2008 a total of 1,137 loan applicants have been awarded a loan. 383 loans were awarded in 2007 and 754 in 2008.
	The integration loan is available to those granted refugee status, humanitarian protection or those granted leave as a dependant of such individuals. Consideration of eligibility takes into account these factors and does not differentiate between whether an applicant has been granted refugee status or humanitarian protection. We therefore do not collect statistics on the immigration status of successful loan applicants.

Asylum: Homosexuality

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who claimed to be gay or lesbian have been returned from the UK to  (a) Iran,  (b) Iraq,  (c) Mauritania,  (d) Nigeria,  (e) Pakistan,  (f) Saudi Arabia,  (g) the United Arab Emirates,  (h) Sudan and  (i) Yemen since 1997.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is not available and could be obtained only through the examination of individual cases files at disproportionate cost. Even then, this information may not be available in all cases.
	The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of persons removed, including voluntary departures, from the UK on a quarterly and annual basis. National Statistics on immigration and asylum are placed in the Library of the House and are available from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	Figures for the fourth quarter of 2008 will be published on 24 February 2009.

Borders: Personal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many and what proportion of UK air passenger movements  (a) other passenger information and  (b) passenger name record data are gathered.

Phil Woolas: Other Passenger Information (OPI) is known in the aviation industry as Passenger Name Record (PNR) data. Carriers will only be required to provide OPI to e-Borders to the extent that it is known to the carrier i.e. held within the reservation system. OPI is currently only collected on a limited number of routes.
	It is UKBA policy not to provide details of the routes for security and commercial reasons.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in her Department were disciplined for  (a) bullying and  (b) harassment of colleagues in each of the last three years.

Phil Woolas: This response covers staff within Home Office headquarters, the UK Border Agency, the Identity and Passport Service and the Criminal Records Bureau.
	Information on the number of staff disciplined (including any dismissed) under the Department's Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Policy during the last three financial years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Table 1: Staff disciplined or dismissed under Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Policy 
			   Staff disciplined (including any dismissed) 
			 2005-06 17 
			 2006-07 9 
			 2007-08 19 
		
	
	Information on the number of staff disciplined in each specific category is not held centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what expert advisers have been commissioned by her Department and its agencies since 1997; on what topic each was commissioned; and whether the advisers so appointed made a declaration of political activity in each case.

Phil Woolas: Comprehensive information on this is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

Departmental Pensions

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to advise staff of pension options available to them in relation to added years or additional voluntary contributions.

Phil Woolas: Information on how to purchase added pension and additional voluntary contributions is provided to all members of staff on joining the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). This is contained in the relevant scheme booklet sent to all those joining the Department.
	This information is also made available to members of staff on the Cabinet Office website (a link to this is on the Home Office HR intranet site) and the annual benefit statements sent to all staff who are members of the PCSPS contain details on where to find further information for those interested in boosting their pension provision.

Departmental Recruitment

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many new recruits her Department took on in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07,  (c) 2007-08 and  (d) 2008-09, how many of these were taken on as (i) permanent, (ii) temporary and (iii) agency staff; and what estimate she has made of the equivalent figures for (A) 2009-10 and (B) 2010-11.

Phil Woolas: The number of new recruits in Home Office HQ is in the following table:
	
		
			  Home office HQ—new recruits 
			   Financial year 
			  Appointment type  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 Permanent recruits 491 618 216 255 — — 
			 Temporary recruits 235 172 142 287 — — 
			 Agency recruits 17 51 77 97 — — 
			 Total 743 841 435 639 — — 
			
			 Forecast permanent recruits — — — — (1)— (1)— 
			 Forecast temporary recruits — — — — (1)— (1)— 
			 Forecast agency recruits — — — — (1)— (1)— 
			 (1 )2009-10 and 2010-11 forecasts figures are not available as business planning has not been finalised in detail.

Departmental Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 2292-3W, on redundancy, what estimate has she made of the annual payroll savings resulting from staff exit schemes in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07,  (c) 2007-08 and  (d) 2008-09 excluding the cost of severance packages; and what estimate she has made of the equivalent figures for 2009-10.

Phil Woolas: The savings resulting from staff exit schemes could only be calculated following examination of individual records and this would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by her Department on  (a) agency and  (b) temporary staff in each financial year since 2005-06.

Phil Woolas: The following table details total annual salary costs to the Department for casual and fee paid employees who are paid on the Department's payroll system. The data cover Home Office headquarters, UK Border Agency (UKBA), Identity and Passport Service (IPS) and Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).
	The Department employs agency staff and consultants who are paid from individual business unit budgets. Salary costs are not held centrally for these employees and to obtain the information would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   £ 
			   Total annual salary costs of casual and fee paid staff in HQ, UKBA, IPS and CRB 
			 2005-06 1,469,927.07 
			 2006-07 503,593.29 
			 2007-08 420,924.08 
			 2008-09 (to end of January 2009) 372,012.41

Departmental Travel

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what expenditure her Department has incurred in providing transport for Ministers between Parliament and departmental premises in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. Hoon) on 26 January 2009,  Official Report, column 5W. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.

Departmental Written Questions

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in the last 12 months Ministers in her Department have used their discretion to rule that a parliamentary question for written answer should be answered because it would be in the public interest to do so, even though to do so would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold of £700.

Phil Woolas: This information is not held centrally.

Deportation: Offenders

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners are subject to deportation notices.

Phil Woolas: The chief executive of the UK Border Agency has regularly written to the Home Affairs Committee in order to provide all of the most robust and accurate information on the deportation of foreign national prisoners. Copies of these letters are available in the Library of the House.
	Those who meet the published criteria for deportation will be considered for deportation action. Additionally any non-EEA foreign national prisoners who receive a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, as well as any non-EEA national convicted of a drug or gun offence irrespective of the length of their sentence, will face automatic deportation and, in many cases, will not receive a right of appeal within the United Kingdom. According to the Agency's own provisional internal management information, which is subject to change, over 5,000 foreign national prisoners were deported in 2008. This means that the UK Border Agency yet again exceeded its target for the year as well as exceeding the previous year's record number of removals and deportations of foreign national prisoners.

Domestic Violence: Refuges

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refuges for victims of domestic violence there were in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department does not record these figures.
	There is a range of support for victims of domestic violence. Some victims will be accommodated in refuges, but sanctuary schemes and mainstream local authority accommodation may be an option for others, while some victims will pursue independent solutions with help and advice from support schemes as necessary.
	A national survey of refuge places in 1998 showed that there were 409 domestic violence refuge properties in England with approximately 7,269 bed-spaces.
	The Department have recently commissioned new research that will identify the current housing options available to households at risk of domestic violence, and to assess whether this provision meets current need. It will involve establishing the extent and type of temporary and settled accommodation available for households at risk of domestic violence in England, including the provision of housing related support services delivered to both temporary and settled accommodation, and to households' own homes.
	In 2003 the Government announced major investment in refuge provision in England in 2003 to 2006. A total of £34 million capital was allocated and 511 units of accommodation were refurbished or newly built. More recently the Hostels Capital Improvement programme (2005 to 2007) funded six new and refurbished refuges at a cost of £4 million.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government provides essential revenue support for victims of domestic violence through the Supporting People Programme—£64.5 million in 2007-08 up from £61.6 million in 2006-07.

Entry Clearances

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects a decision to be made on the application for a family reunion visa in Pretoria, South Africa by the relatives of the hon. Member for West Lancashire's constituent Mr. Katona: Loyce Gaka, visa reference number VFS-ZA-01-011915-X and Amanda Katona, visa reference number VFS-ZA-01-011916-X.

Phil Woolas: These applications were resolved on 26 January 2009.

Foreign Workers

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the definition is of a temporary worker under Mode 4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services; how such workers will be identified; and how their departure from the UK at the end of their contract will be enforced.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 2 February 2009
	The definition of a temporary worker under Mode 4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services can be found in the current European Union services offer in the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations on the World Trade Organisation website:
	www.wto.org
	Intra company transferees coming to the United Kingdom under Mode 4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services will be required to qualify under the Tier 2 (Intra Company Transfers) category of the Points-Based System. Contractual Service Suppliers coming to the United Kingdom under Mode 4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services will be required to qualify under Tier 5 (Temporary Workers)—International Exchange sub-category of the Points-Based System.

Freedom of Information

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on responding to requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007 and  (c) January to July 2008.

Phil Woolas: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	An assessment of the cost of freedom of information within Government can be found in Frontier Economics 2006 report "Independent Review of the Freedom of Information Act". A copy of this report is available in the House of Commons Library.

Freedom of Information

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff of her Department are specifically employed to manage freedom of information requests.

Phil Woolas: Across the Home Office and its agencies, 10 staff deal exclusively with freedom of information requests, four of whom are employed on a part-time basis. A further 17 staff have managed freedom of information requests as a substantial part of their role. Overall, the equivalent of 19.6 full-time posts manage freedom of information requests.

Freedom of Information

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 her Department  (a) fulfilled and  (b) refused in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) up to July 2008.

Phil Woolas: The information requested has been published in the Ministry of Justice's annual reports on the operation of the FOI Act in central Government. These can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/foi-annual-report-central-gov-2006.pdf
	for requests received in 2006,
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/foi-report-2007-final-web.pdf
	for cases received in 2007.
	Information on cases received between January and July 2008 can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/quarterly-stats-jan-mar-08.pdf
	and
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/quarterly-stats-apr-jun-08.pdf
	these are also available in the Library.

House of Commons: Right of Search

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether  (a) her Department and  (b) Metropolitan police have received a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the release of the report of the review conducted by Chief Constable Ian Johnston of the arrest and investigation of the hon. Member for Ashford;
	(2)  if she will obtain a copy of the final report of the review conducted by Chief Constable Ian Johnston of the British Transport Police of the arrest and investigation of the hon. Member for Ashford; and if she will place a copy of the report in the Library.

Vernon Coaker: holding answers 5 and 9 February 2009
	No request has been made to my Department. The review of the handling of the investigation by the Metropolitan police was made at the request of the then Acting Commissioner. The report of the review is a matter for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan police and I have no plans to call for a copy of the report.

Immigration: Deportation

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals who were normally resident in Peterborough constituency and had no legal basis to remain in the UK have been removed since May 2007; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 13 January 2009,  Official Report, column 702W, in which he asked a similar question. The information requested could be obtained by the detailed examination of individual records only at disproportionate cost.

Immigration: Detainees

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what compensation payments have been made by  (a) her Department and  (b) private contractors working for her Department to immigration detainees in (i) response to allegations of unlawful detention, (ii) response to allegations of assault and (iii) total in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is not collected centrally and could be obtained only through examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.

Immigration: Marriage

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will review the application of the two-year rule to the right of a spouse to apply to remain in the UK.

Phil Woolas: In April 2003 the probationary period for those seeking settlement on the basis of marriage was increased from one to two years. The two year probationary period is intended to protect the system against abuse. This probationary period allows the UK Border Agency to assess that the relationship is subsisting and acts as a safeguard against those who might enter into a sham marriage solely for immigration purposes.
	The UK Border Agency keeps its policies under continuous review to ensure that they operate effectively and meet the Government's wider immigration objectives.

Luton Borough Council

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what grants her Department has made in respect of the Luton borough council area in each year since 1997.

Phil Woolas: The Department's accounting systems show the following specific area grant payments to Luton borough council, Luton Primary Care Trust and Safer Luton Partnership.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 984,248 
			 2005-06 1,447,135 
			 2006-07 867,702 
			 2007-08 1,514,467 
			 2008-09 1,136,007 
		
	
	An analysis by individual grants, payments made before 2004-05, and other related payments, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Mass Media

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of her Department's contracts with press monitoring services was in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: The total cost of the Department's contracts with press monitoring services in the last four financial years (2004-05 to 2007-08) is provided in the following table. The information for 2003-04 is no longer readily available and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   Total (£) 
			 2004-05 203,393 
			 2005-06 164,457 
			 2006-07 276,747 
			 2007-08 255,992

Members: Correspondence

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Northavon of 21 August 2008, on behalf of Mr. Paul Butler, transferred from the Ministry of Defence and acknowledged by her Department with reference M16298/8.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 4 February 2009
	The chief executive of the UK Border Agency wrote to the hon. Member on 6 February 2009.

Offenders: Deportation

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of procedures for the deportation of illegal immigrants who are convicted of a criminal offence.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 3 February 2009
	The chief executive of the UK Border Agency has regularly written to the Home Affairs Select Committee advising of progress that the Agency has made in deporting such individuals and improvements to the system. Copies of these letters are available in the Library of the House. According to provisional internal management information, which is subject to change, the UK Border Agency deported or removed over 5,000 foreign national prisoners in 2008 meaning that it has again exceeded its Government set target and deported or removed record numbers of foreign criminals.

Offenders: Foreigners

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners have been given leave to remain in the UK in the last 12 months.

Phil Woolas: The Home Secretary has made it clear that those foreign national prisoners who commit crimes within the United Kingdom and meet the relevant criteria will face deportation action. Where an individual who does not meet this criteria but has no lawful basis upon which to remain in the United Kingdom, the UK Border Agency will pursue removal action against them.
	The chief executive of the UK Border Agency has regularly written to the Home Affairs Select Committee in order to provide them with all of the most robust and accurate information available on the deportation of foreign national prisoners. Copies of her letters are available in the Library of the House.

Passports

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visits to each passport office members of the public made in each of the last 10 years.

Meg Hillier: The Identity and Passport Service does not hold data on the actual number of visits made by members of the public. However the total number of actual counter applications processed over a five year period, under the one week and same day service are in the following table.
	
		
			   London  Liverpool  Peterborough  Newport  Glasgow  Belfast  Durham  Total 
			 2002-03 170,374 64,275 51,265 44,798 35,595 13,638 23,611 403,556 
			 2003-04 192,288 73,478 55,309 46,943 41,251 15,279 31,008 455,556 
			 2004-05 197,084 83,087 60,515 55,040 45,031 19,119 40,223 500,099 
			 2005-06 223,707 92,726 69,740 58,750 48,731 21,613 48,297 563,564 
			 2006-07 226,201 105,022 77,611 59,108 55,408 23,311 58,381 605,042 
			 2007-08 228,829 95,888 74,870 56,067 55,354 21,119 43,048 575,175

Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 4 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2479W, on the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre: Government Departments, what the purpose was of each of the conferences for her Department organised by R Glasgow and Associates Public Relations Ltd held in the QE2 Conference Centre.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is as follows:
	 SCS Leadership Conference—October 2007
	The conference focused on the quality of management and leadership within the Home Office and the steps to be taken to further improve performance.
	 SCS Leadership Conference—March 2008
	The conference focused on the quality of management and leadership within the Home Office, the Department's strategy, progress being made on the Department's reform programme and preparations for the Capability Review.
	 The NETWORK AGM
	Under the title 'Diversity Reflects us all—Equality Protects us all', the AGM
	Presented the NETWORK Annual Report;
	Presented awards for outstanding work within the NETWORK;
	Announced results of the National Executive Committee Elections.

Sri Lanka

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department classifies Sri Lanka as a safe country.

Phil Woolas: Sri Lanka is not one of the 24 countries currently designated under Section 94 (4) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 as a country from which asylum or human rights claims are to be certified as clearly unfounded unless the applicant is able to satisfy the Secretary of State that their asylum claim is not clearly unfounded.

Terrorism Act 2006: Prosecutions

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) prosecutions and  (b) convictions there have been for the offence of encouragement of terrorism contained in the Terrorism Act 2006; and how many in each case involved glorification of terrorism as defined in section 1(3) of that Act.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not currently held.
	The Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General's Office are currently working with the National Coordinator for Terrorist Investigations to improve the quality of data on arrests and convictions under terrorist legislation and other related legislation. As soon as this is complete a statistical bulletin to cover information on arrests and convictions will be published, but as yet we do not have a confirmed date.
	The bulletin will say how many individuals have been charged and convicted for encouragement of terrorism; however it will not break it down any further.

UK Border Agency: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long on average it took the UK Border Agency to reply to letters from hon. Members in 2008.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 19 January 2009
	The Cabinet Office publish annually a report detailing departmental performance in handling Members' correspondence. The report for 2008 will be published shortly and will be made available in the House Library.

Work Permits

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 8 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 453-4W, on entry clearances: employment, how many work permit applications by non-EU workers were approved in each of the last three years for which figures are available, broken down by the 20 most frequent occupations.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 3 February 2009
	The table shows the number of work permit applications for non-EU workers approved in each of the last three years broken down by the 20 most frequent occupations.
	Figures are rounded to nearest five.
	Because of rounding, figures may not add up to totals shown.
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. The occupational categories used are not compatible with those in the Standard Occupational Classification.
	 Caveats:
	The figures do not equate to the number of individual nationals who were granted permits because they include those applications approved to extend or amend an existing permit or where the individual has moved to another job with a different employer. Not all those who were granted a permit took up the job and some may have been refused entry clearance or further leave to remain.
	
		
			  Number of individual approved work permit applications from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2008 
			  Top 20 occupations  2006  2007  2008  Total 
			 Other IT related occupation 15,275 17,065 17,485 49,830 
			 Other manager related occupation 17,500 16,455 15,095 49,055 
			 Nurse 13,615 8,515 8,770 30,900 
			 Software engineer 9,535 10,610 7,410 27,555 
			 Other financial occupation 7,480 8,705 7,450 23,635 
			 Other engineering occupation 7,605 7,440 7,330 22,375 
			 Chef 5,840 4,340 3,475 13,655 
			 Researcher 4,570 4,515 4,160 13,250 
			 Other health/medical occupation 6,495 3,305 3,135 12,935 
			 Senior carer 5,690 2,180 3,475 11,340 
			 Teacher (school/college) 4,040 3,800 3,445 11,285 
			 Analyst programmer 2,925 3,790 3,465 10,180 
			 System analyst 2,035 2,360 2,150 6,545 
			 Project manager 1,475 1,665 1,845 4,985 
			 Doctor 3,035 905 905 4,845 
			 Other hotel catering occupation 2,090 1,445 1,205 4,740 
			 Other education/cultural occupation 1,515 1,500 1,330 4,345 
			 Accountant 1,380 1,185 1,090 3,655 
			 Business analyst 785 1,335 1,425 3,550 
			 Marketing/sales manager 1,135 1,240 1,105 3,485 
			 Others 30,935 25,975 25,320 82,235 
			 Total 144,950 128,325 121,080 94,355

Work Permits

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are applied in determining applications to work in the UK from  (a) non-EU nationals resident in the UK,  (b) EU nationals resident in the UK and  (c) nationals of Commonwealth countries resident in the UK.

Phil Woolas: Full details of the criteria applied to these categories for assessing applications for work can be found on the UK Border Agency website at:
	www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk

Work Permits: Africa

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits were issued for  (a) doctors and  (b) nurses and auxiliary nurses from each African country in the last two years for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 2009
	The following table provides numbers of work permits issued to nationals from each African country for occupations containing the word 'nurse' or 'doctor' for the period 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2008.
	
		
			  Country  Doctor  Nurse  Total 
			 Botswana (2)— 75 75 
			 Burundi (2)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Cameroon 5 55 60 
			 Congo (1)— 5 5 
			 Egypt 90 (1)— 95 
			 Gambia (2)— 15 15 
			 Ghana 15 415 430 
			 Kenya 5 205 210 
			 Lesotho 5 60 65 
			 Liberia (2)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Libya 10 (2)— 10 
			 Malawi (1)— 85 90 
			 Mauritius (1)— 295 295 
			 Mozambique (2)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Namibia (2)— 30 30 
			 Nigeria 50 870 915 
			 Rwanda (2)— 5 5 
			 Seychelles (2)— 10 10 
			 Sierra Leone (2)— 35 35 
			 Somalia (2)— (1)— (1)— 
			 South Africa 250 950 1,205 
			 Sudan 35 (2)— 35 
			 Swaziland (2)— 45 45 
			 Tanzania (1)— 30 35 
			 Togo (2)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Uganda 5 60 65 
			 Zaire (2)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Zambia (2)— 265 265 
			 Zimbabwe 10 2,185 2,195 
			 Total 485 5,700 6,185 
			 (1) Indicates one or two (2) Indicates nil  Notes: 1. The figures do not equate to the number of individual nationals who were granted permits because they include those applications approved to extend or amend an existing permit or where the individual has moved to another job with a different employer. Not all those who were granted a permit took up the job and some may have been refused entry clearance or further leave to remain. 2. The term doctors/nurses refers to the occupation description containing the word 'nurse' or 'doctor'. 3. Numbers exclude persons admitted under the highly skilled migrant programme or the points-based system. 4. Figures are rounded to nearest five 5. Because of rounding figures may not add up to totals shown. 
		
	
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. Industry sectors used are not consistent with the Standard Industrial Classification.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Housing: Lambeth

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the extent to which Lambeth council's proposed rental charges from 1 April 2009 comply with her Department's guidance to local authorities on social rents.

Iain Wright: Local authority social housing rents are set by the individual authority, not by central Government.
	The Government want the rents charged by social landlords to be fair and affordable. But, ultimately authorities are free to make their own decisions about the actual levels of their rents, in consultation with their tenants, and may decide not to follow the Government's advice.

Council Housing: Rents

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what average percentage change in the level of council housing rents her Department is  (a) expecting and  (b) recommending for 2009-10 over the previous year.

Iain Wright: The Department expects local authorities to follow its policy for social rents, but does not recommend specific rent increases to landlords. Guideline rents for each local authority form part of each year's Housing Revenue Account Subsidy determination for the purposes of making assumptions about a local authority's income, and its entitlement to subsidy.
	The Department does not expect any particular average actual rent increases for 2009-10. Rent setting is a matter for each local authority landlord.

Council Housing: South Yorkshire

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people are on the council house waiting list in  (a) Barnsley and  (b) Doncaster; and what the equivalent figures were (i) five and (ii) 10 years ago.

Iain Wright: Information is available on numbers of households rather than people. The number of households registered on council housing waiting lists in each local authority, as at 1 April each year, is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600. The latest available data is at April 2008 and can be found on our website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/table600.xls
	Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. The number of households on local authorities' waiting lists in Barnsley and Doncaster are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of households on the council house waiting list (excludes households looking for transfers) 
			   April 1998  April 2003  April 2008 
			 Barnsley 4,448 4,131 6,097 
			 Doncaster 14,413 10,763 15,973 
			  Source: Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) 
		
	
	Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get on to the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time. The size of the waiting list is not an indicator of absolute need, it is only useful as a broad indicator of housing demand in an area.

Council Tax: Students

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the High Court ruling in the case of Merseyside Valuation Tribunal and Wirral borough council  v. Farthing, whether she plans to amend council tax regulations to allow full-time students on a condensed course of study to be eligible for a student council tax discount for the duration of their study.

John Healey: There are no plans to amend council tax regulations in this way.

Empty Property: East of England

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many empty dwellings there were in the eastern region in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many empty dwellings there were in Mid-Bedfordshire constituency in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The number of empty dwellings in local authority areas covering the Mid-Bedfordshire constituency, and in the eastern region, in each year since 2004 are shown in the following table. Information for years prior to 2004 is not available.
	
		
			   Bedford B.C.  Mid-Bedfordshire D.C.  Eastern region 
			 1 November 2004 2,341 1,465 65,665 
			 10 October 2005 2,270 1,375 66,783 
			 9 October 2006 1,935 1,398 68,485 
			 8 October 2007 2,024 1,460 69,107 
			 6 October 2008 2,040 1,781 75,198 
		
	
	The data are as reported annually to Communities and Local Government on the CTB and CTB (supplementary) forms that are completed by all billing authorities in England. The data relate to particular dates in the autumn of each year.

Housing Revenue Accounts: City of Westminster

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what Westminster city council's housing revenue account subsidy position  (a) was in each of the last 10 years and  (b) is expected to be in 2009-10.

Iain Wright: Westminster city council's housing revenue account subsidy annual entitlement for the period 1999-2000 to 2008-09 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   £ 
			 1999-2000 3,445,142 
			 2000-01 2,925,014 
			 2001-02 15,679,461 
			 2002-03 15,626,575 
			 2003-04 17,449,143 
			 2004-05 16,167,991 
			 2005-06 13,430,874 
			 2006-07 12,648,424 
			 2007-08 10,274,925 
			 2008-09 (1)6,896,466 
			 (1 )Provisional 
		
	
	Data for 2009-10 are not available. The authority's subsidy entitlement is dependent upon housing stock levels, which are not due to be made available until the end of March. We anticipate that the authority will continue to receive subsidy.

Housing Revenue Accounts: City of Westminster

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) Westminster city council and  (b) CityWest Homes contributed to the housing revenue account in each of the last 10 years; and how much they are expected to contribute to it in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10.

Iain Wright: Westminster city council has been a net recipient of housing revenue account subsidy in each of the last 10 years. The authority does not contribute surpluses for redistribution elsewhere and we expect this to continue to be the case in 2009-10.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what financial incentives are available to improve the efficiency of low carbon building projects in  (a) England and  (b) Buckinghamshire.

Iain Wright: There are several financial incentive schemes at national and local levels which support energy efficiency and low carbon building projects. These are summarised as follows:
	 England
	Landlords Energy Saving Allowance—A financial incentive introduced in 2004 to encourage landlords to invest in the energy efficiency of their properties. It offers a deduction against taxable profits for private landlords' expenditure on cavity wall, loft, solid wall and hot water system insulation as well as draught-proofing.
	Low Carbon Buildings programme—The Low Carbon Buildings programme was launched in 2006. It is the Government's £86 million capital grant programme funding the installation of on-site technologies for householders, communities, public sector and businesses. Over £42 million has been committed to 9,505 projects in England so far.
	Stamp Duty Land Tax Exemption—Stamp Duty relief for zero carbon homes was announced in Budget 2007 to act as an incentive to developers of new zero carbon homes. The exemption covers the first acquisition of a zero carbon home costing up to £500,000. For homes costing in excess of £500,000 there will be a reduction of £15,000. The exemption is in place for all new homes for a period of five years ending on 30 September 2012.
	Other programmes which can provide financial support include:
	Act on CO2/Energy Saving Trust—In April 2008, the Government launched an advice line which offers a "one-stop-shop" for advice and tips on reducing carbon emissions and saving energy in the home with £26 million of support.
	Decent Homes programme—The Decent Homes Standard includes a thermal comfort element that requires efficient heating and effective insulation in homes. From 2001-2007 the Government have spent £4 billion on heating and insulation as part of the wider Decent Homes programme.
	 Buckinghamshire
	The Low Carbon Buildings programme (see above) has committed over £500,000 to 140 projects in Buckinghamshire so far.
	All Buckinghamshire local authorities, and Milton Keynes, are participating in a region-wide programme designed to retrofit energy efficiency measures to existing private housing. Alongside funding made available for authorities to make their council housing decent my Department's "Private Sector Renewal" initiative provides funding through the Regional Housing Pot for authorities to cut household CO2 emissions by providing a range of services such as loft and cavity wall insulation, energy efficient boilers and renewable energy technology. The Thames Valley partnership is focusing its resources on an innovative loan facility, "the Flexible Home Improvement Loan". The Thames Valley-wide consortium has £7 million to spend over two years.
	Milton Keynes Offsetting scheme—this is a local authority scheme whereby new housing that does not meet a stipulated level of the Code for Sustainable Homes is charged a levy that goes into a local retrofitting fund. Local sources suggest that this will create a funding pot of around £2 million for the improvement of the borough's housing stock.

Housing: Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date the moratorium on house building was lifted in the Chorley borough council area.

Iain Wright: No moratorium on housing was imposed on any local authority in the north-west.
	Regional planning guidance published in 2003 set targets for overall house-building in each upper tier local authority area in the north-west. It was for local authorities to decide how to manage housing supply within that context taking into consideration any under or over supply and the impact on neighbouring housing markets.
	A new regional spatial strategy was published in September 2008 establishing new annual average figures for housing provision. These are not absolute targets and may be exceeded, where justified.

Housing: Greater London

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate she has made of the average cost of constructing affordable housing units in London; and what the projected average cost is of constructing such units in 2010.

Iain Wright: Affordable housing is constructed in the same way as all other domestic housing, and similarly costs vary according to size and specification. Communities and Local Government has not carried out any recent work on the average cost of constructing an affordable housing unit in London. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform publishes data on construction costs, in the form of the Construction Cost and Price Indices which are available on a quarterly basis either in hard copy or online via the Building Cost Information Service website at:
	http://www.bcis.co.uk/BCISWEB/ProductSearch/Product Search.aspx?next=product&productid=156

Housing: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many housing association properties there were in each of the wards of Leeds West constituency in each year since 2005; and what percentage of all dwellings in each ward they represented.

Iain Wright: The information requested is not available centrally. It is being collected through the National Register of Social Housing but this is not yet complete.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what the average cost has been of the homes brought into use as affordable housing through the Clearing House Programme;
	(2)  what proportion of the 4,800 homes brought into use as affordable housing through the Clearing House Programme are flats.

Iain Wright: The average grant per unit of all developer stock that has been purchased with funding through the Homes and Communities Agency's Affordable Housing programme (AHP) since May is set out in the following table. This includes both those schemes that were assessed through the National Clearing House and the smaller schemes that were assessed through the HCA.
	
		
			  Product  Average grant per unit (£) 
			 Low cost home ownership 12,223 
			 Social rent 41,115 
			 Grand total 33,102 
			  Source:  Homes and Communities Agency. 
		
	
	Over 2,700 flats out of the total of over 4,800 affordable homes are being provided through the £160 million allocated from the initial £200 million earmarked from within the Affordable Housing programme.

Local Government: Planning Permission

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what procedures apply to planning applications made to themselves by local planning authorities.

Iain Wright: The procedures dealing with development by local authorities are contained in the Town and Country Planning General Regulations 1992. The general principle underlying these regulations is that local authorities must make planning applications in the same way as any other person and must follow the same procedures as would apply to applications by others. In particular, the application must be advertised in the same way as any similar application from any other applicant. Such applications cannot be decided by a committee or officer responsible for the management of any land or buildings to which they relate.
	Local authority development proposals, like those of other persons applying for planning permission, must be decided in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. They must be notified to the Secretary of State if they are not in accordance with the provisions of the development plan in force in the area, so that she can consider whether to 'call in' the application for her own determination.

Mobile Homes

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to publish the Green Paper on park home owners.

Iain Wright: The Department intends to publish two consultation papers this year on park homes. In April we propose to publish a paper on reforms to site licensing of park home sites. During the summer we hope to publish a paper on options for reform to certain provisions in the Mobile Homes Act 1983 (as amended) to improve the transparency of dealings between site owners and residents.

Multiple Occupation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made towards gathering information on homes in multiple occupation and the employment status of people who live in such accommodation in order to address the gap in evidence identified in her Department's second response to the Communities and Local Government Committee's Report on coastal towns.

Iain Wright: We have improved the evidence base by publishing Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) data at local authority level. For statistics on applications received for licenses issued by the local authorities that relate to the English seaside towns I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 15 December 2008,  Official Report, column 372W.

National Clearing House Scheme

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much and what proportion of expenditure on the National Clearing House scheme will come from the Homes and Communities Agency's;
	(2)  how many unsold domestic dwellings in each local authority area have been bought under the National Clearing House scheme; and what the  (a) timetable and  (b) target for the total number of dwellings to be purchased under the scheme is.

Iain Wright: In May, the Government announced a plan to take advantage of market opportunities to bring private sector developer stock into the affordable housing sector by providing £200 million of funding in 2008-09 from the overall budget of the Homes and Communities Agency's Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) for the purchase of homes from house builders. This represents around 8 per cent. of the overall Affordable Housing Programme for 2008-09. We have not set a specific target for the number of properties to be purchased as we want to ensure that they are appropriate and of the right quality.
	To help facilitate this, the Housing Corporation set up the National Clearing House to streamline initial assessment of national packages of at least 250 units from private sector house builders. Housing Corporation Investment partners, mainly registered social landlords, wishing to buy smaller numbers of units from developers could bid for funding directly to the Corporation in the normal way.
	To the end of December over £160 million had been allocated from the initial £200 million. A table has been deposited in the Library showing the distribution of these allocations by local authority and social rent and low cost home ownership.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to withdraw the requirement on businesses in statutory ports in England and Wales to pay backdated business rates bills.

John Healey: The Secretary of State has no discretion to waive a liability for taxation.

Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects the Shareholder Executive to report on its examination of the operation of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre.

Iain Wright: The Government are planning an update on their consideration of the options for the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre by Budget 2009.

Regional Planning and Development: South-East

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what the timetable is for the analysis of responses to the south- east plan consultation submitted to the Government office for the south-east;
	(2)  when she expects analysis of responses to the south-east plan consultation to be available; and whether she has any plans for its publication.

Sadiq Khan: The analysis of the responses to the consultation is currently being undertaken by the Government office for the south-east.
	We are expecting to publish the regional spatial strategy for the south east in the spring together with an analysis of responses received during the consultation.

Regional Spatial Strategies

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what role regional Ministers are playing in the development of regional spatial strategies.

Iain Wright: Regional Ministers represent regional interests in the formulation of government policy; facilitate a joined up approach across Government Departments and agencies to enable effective delivery; champion the region at high level events and with regard to high profile projects. They also represent the Government with regard to central Government policy at regional select committee hearings and at parliamentary debates focussed specifically on the region.
	Regional Ministers also promote the importance of regional planning and encourage regional stakeholders to engage positively in the regional planning process and in their implementation. However, Regional Ministers are not part of the decision making process in relation to the review and issuing of RSSs. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is responsible for issuing RSSs.

Social Rented Housing

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the guideline social housing rent increase for  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11 is for each local authority in England.

Iain Wright: Local authority social housing rents are set by the individual authority, not by central Government.
	I have placed a table setting out guideline rent changes for 2009-10 by authority in the Library of the House. Changes for 2010-11 between individual local authorities have not been set.
	To protect tenants from large annual rent rises, we have put in place arrangements so that no authority need raise its actual rent per property above RPI+½+£2 in any one year.

Travelling People: Caravan Sites

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what targets for new traveller sites have been included in each draft regional spatial strategy.

Iain Wright: Local planning authorities are required to assess the accommodation needs of gypsies and travellers in the same way that they assess the housing needs of other members of their local communities.
	Local planning authorities do this through Gypsy and Travellers Accommodation Assessments (GTAAs). The GTAAs inform the preparation of policies in the draft regional spatial strategy (RSS).
	The RSS identifies the number of pitches required (but not the location or sites); it is for local planning authorities to consider the location or sites where pitches required for their area, possibly in conjunction with neighbouring local planning authorities.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Departmental Surveys

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what areas were identified by his Department's June 2008 stakeholder survey as needing improvement, as referred to in his Department's autumn 2008 performance report; and if he will place a copy of the survey in the Library.

David Miliband: Areas identified as needing improvement are outlined in the Department's June 2008 stakeholder survey, a copy of which I will place into the Library of the House.

Departmental Training

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the Answer of 3 November 2008,  Official Report, column 162W, on departmental training, if he will place in the Library a copy of the audit of skills in his Department conducted in 2008.

David Miliband: A copy will be placed in the Library, once work on the audit of skills has been completed.

Developing Countries: Trade

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the next proposed World Trade Organisation Ministerial meeting on the Doha Development Agenda to take place; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 16 December 2008
	 No timing has been set for a ministerial meeting in the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). The possibility of such a meeting in December 2008 did not materialise and now further consultations will be needed, including with the new US Administration, before the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General is likely to be able to propose a new timetable for negotiations.
	My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and other Ministers have worked tirelessly in support of a DDA deal and the Government's determination to work for fairer trade rules remains undimmed. Early conclusion of the DDA remains a top priority and we will continue to work closely with the WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, the European Commission and EU partners to secure a deal. The revised negotiating texts on agriculture and industrial goods issued in December captured the key aspects of the progress made at the July WTO ministerial. We must now build on this, bridging the few remaining gaps to reach agreement. In the meantime, we urge WTO members to resist resorting to protectionism.

International Relations

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on the countries which have been recognised by  (a) the UK,  (b) the US,  (c) Russia,  (d) France,  (e) Germany,  (f) China and  (g) Israel since 1998 without the approval or with only partial approval of the countries in question.

Gillian Merron: Since 1998, the UK has recognised the following states: East Timor (20 May 2002), Montenegro (13 June 2006) and Kosovo (18 February 2008). In each case, the Government of the state in question has welcomed its recognition by the UK.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not systematically hold information on which countries have been recognised by the US, Russia, France, Germany, China or Israel.

Mujaheddin-e Khalq

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy towards the People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran is in the light of the recent judgment by the European Court of First Instance.

Bill Rammell: On 26 January 2009, taking account of the judgment by the Court of First Instance on 4 December 2008, the General Affairs and External Relations Council adopted a list which did not include the MeK (Mujaheddin-e-Khalq, also known as the People's Mojaheddin of Iran).
	However, we remain mindful of the MeK's history as an organisation responsible for a number of serious terrorist attacks—it claimed responsibility for large numbers of violent attacks inside Iran for a number of years, including 96 in a three-month period in early 2001. We do not agree with its claim that it represents a credible democratic opposition in exile.

Zimbabwe: Overseas Visitors

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice his Department provides to UK citizens on travel to Zimbabwe.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 12 January 2009
	 The latest travel advice for Zimbabwe and elsewhere can be found on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at
	www.fco.gov.uk/travel.

TREASURY

Carbon Emissions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his definition of the low-carbon sector is as referred to in the pre-Budget report 2008.

Angela Eagle: We have used the definition from the forthcoming independent study by Innovas, commissioned by BERR, which includes:
	 Renewable energy, such as:
	Hydro;
	Wave and Tidal;
	Biomass;
	Wind;
	Geothermal;
	Renewable Consulting;
	Photovoltaic.
	 And emerging low carbon technologies and activities, such as:
	Alternative Fuel Vehicles;
	Alternative Fuels;
	Additional Energy sources;
	Carbon Capture and Storage;
	Carbon Finance;
	Energy Management;
	Building Technologies.

Carbon Emissions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal incentives are available for the research and development of low-carbon technologies.

Angela Eagle: The Government provide a range of tax incentives to encourage the adoption of new energy technologies:
	Exemption from the climate change levy for supplies of electricity generated from certain renewable sources;
	Enhanced capital allowances (ECAs) for energy efficient equipment provide 100 per cent. first year allowances for spending on designated energy-saving technologies and products;
	Stamp duty exemption for new zero-carbon homes;
	Reduced rate of VAT (5 per cent.) for the professional installation of microgeneration equipment in residential and charitable properties.
	And further tax incentives to support investment in innovative new technologies and higher risk ventures:
	R and D tax credits provide enhanced tax relief for companies investing in scientific and technological R and D.

Carbon Emissions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much pooled funding is available to support cross-departmental co-operation on building a low-carbon economy.

Angela Eagle: Funding is allocated to individual Departments. Cross-departmental co-operation is supported through the Cabinet Office.

Coastal Areas

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who owns the foreshore in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland,  (c) Northern Ireland,  (d) Wales,  (e) Cornwall and  (f) the Isles of Scilly.

Angela Eagle: The Crown Estate owns around 55 per cent. of the foreshore around the UK. The rest of the foreshore is owned by various bodies, including the Crown and the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, such as port authorities, local authorities, the National Trust and private individuals.
	The Duchy of Cornwall owns all of the Isles of Scilly foreshore, and the majority of the foreshore in Cornwall.

Departmental Assets

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what departmental assets are planned to be sold in each financial year from 2007-08 to 2010-11; what the  (a) description and  (b) book value of each such asset is; what the expected revenue from each such sale is; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Treasury does not publish asset sales by Department. Figures for aggregate central Government asset sales in 2007-08 to 2010-11 can be found in the 2008 pre-Budget report: the economy and public finances--supplementary material, table 2.3
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/pbr08_chartstables_501.pdf
	The actual assets disposed of will depend on the decisions made by specific Departments.

Departmental Impact Assessments

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many equalities impact assessments his Department has undertaken in the last 12-month period for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of such assessments.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury has not led on or undertaken any formal equalities impact assessments in the last 12 months. The Treasury works with other Government Departments on a wide range of policies and the Departments implementing the policies and services are responsible for producing equalities impact assessments.
	The Treasury's equality schemes (race, disability and gender) are available on the Treasury's public website and give examples of how the Treasury has promoted best practice and worked with other Departments to assess equalities impacts.

Departmental Lobbying

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Ministers in his Department received representations from  (a) Lord Moonie,  (b) Lord Taylor of Blackburn,  (c) Lord Snape and  (d) Lord Truscott in the last seven months.

Angela Eagle: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.

Environment

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his definition is of the UK's environmental industries as referred to in the pre-Budget report 2008.

Angela Eagle: We have used the definition from the forthcoming independent study by Innovas, commissioned by BERR. The UK's environmental industries are broadly defined by three categories:
	'Traditional' Environmental Goods and Services: i.e. those related to solutions for problems such as air/noise/marine pollution and land/water contamination, environmental analysis and consultancy, and waste management and recycling;
	a wider range of rapidly growing renewable energy technologies, such as hydro, wave and tidal power, geothermal, wind and biomass; and
	a number of other emerging low carbon activities such as reduced emissions from within the transport and construction sectors, nuclear energy, energy management, carbon capture and storage and carbon finance.

Environment

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the evidential basis is of the estimate in the pre-Budget report 2008 that over the next 20 years more than one million people could be employed in the UK's environmental industries.

Angela Eagle: The UK CEED (Centre for Economic and Environmental Development) report on 'Emerging Markets in the Environmental Sector' (November 2006) estimated that the UK environmental sector employed around 400,000 with an annual turnover of £25 billion. This report predicted that the market would grow to £46 billion by 2015.
	Other studies, such as that undertaken by Roland Berger, suggest that the global market could double by 2020. It is therefore reasonable to assume that if the UK maintains its share of the growth, more than one million could be employed in this sector over the next 20 years.
	A more recent study (the forthcoming independent study by Innovas, commissioned by BERR) estimates that the UK already employs 880,000 in this sector if the wider supply chain is included.

Government Departments: Consultants

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much each central Government Department spent on the purchase of consultancy services, standard chart of account code 51401400, in 2007-08.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not held centrally.

Government Departments: Temporary Employment

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much each central Government Department spent on contract and agency staff, standard chart of account code 51404000 in 2007-08.

Yvette Cooper: The spending recorded against account 'Contract and Agency Staff (excluding Consultants)' is combined with other accounts in all published outputs. It is only at this aggregated level that accurate information is available centrally.

Housing Market

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent steps the Government has taken to stimulate the housing market.

Angela Eagle: On 2 September 2008 the Government announced a £1 billion package of measures to help and support home owners in financial difficulty, first-time buyers, and the house building industry. This included the announcement of the launch of HomeBuy Direct, a new shared equity scheme which offers first-time buyers the opportunity to buy their own homes. In addition, the Government announced that Stamp Duty Land Tax would not apply to purchases of residential property of £175,000 or less for the next 12 months from 3 September 2008.
	Furthermore, the Government announced at the pre-Budget report on 24 November 2008 that it would bring forward up to £775 million on investment in housing and regeneration to help offset the impact of economic shocks to priority programmes, and provide support to the construction sector.

Income Tax

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of raising the income tax personal allowance to £11,000 and raising the higher rate of income tax by  (a) 1 per cent.,  (b) 2 per cent.,  (c) 3 per cent.,  (d) 4 per cent. and  (e) 5 per cent. in 2009-10;
	(2)  if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of raising the income tax personal allowance to £11,000 and lowering the higher rate of income tax by  (a) 1 per cent.,  (b) 2 per cent.,  (c) 3 per cent.,  (d) 4 per cent. and  (e) 5 per cent. in 2009-10;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of raising the income tax personal allowance to £12,000 and lowering the higher rate of income tax by  (a) 1 per cent.,  (b) 2 per cent.,  (c) 3 per cent.,  (d) 4 per cent. and  (e) 5 per cent. in 2009-10;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of raising the income tax personal allowance to £8,000 and lowering the higher rate of income tax by  (a) 1 per cent.,  (b) 2 per cent.,  (c) 3 per cent.,  (d) 4 per cent. and  (e) 5 per cent. in 2009-10;
	(5)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of raising the income tax personal allowance to  (a) £8,000,  (b) £9,000,  (c) £10,000,  (d) £11,000 and  (e) £12,000 in 2009-10;
	(6)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of raising the income tax personal allowance to  (a) £8,000,  (b) £9,000 and  (c) £10,000 and raising the higher rate of income tax by (i) 1 per cent., (ii) 2 per cent., (iii) 3 per cent., (iv) 4 per cent. and (v) 5 per cent. in 2009-10.

Stephen Timms: The estimates of increasing the personal allowance alone or increasing the personal allowance and raising or lowering the higher rate of income tax can be approximated from table 1.6 'Direct effects of illustrative tax changes' on the HM Revenue and Customs website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/table1-6.pdf
	The figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response.

Income Tax

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of raising the income tax personal allowance to  (a) £8,000,  (b) £9,000,  (c) £10,000,  (d) £11,000 and  (e) £12,000 and raising the basic rate of income tax by (i) one per cent., (ii) two per cent., (iii) three per cent., (iv) four per cent. and (v) five per cent. in 2009-10;
	(2)  if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of raising the income tax personal allowance to  (a) £8,000,  (b) £9,000,  (c) £10,000,  (d) £11,000 and  (e) £12,000 and lowering the basic rate of income tax by (i) one per cent., (ii) two per cent., (iii) three per cent., (iv) four per cent. and (v) five per cent. in 2009-10.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available. The information available on the Exchequer effect of changes to personal allowances and income tax rates provides for costs estimates to be made where one variable, either personal allowances or income tax rates, is altered. In scenarios involving the changing of both variables cost estimates cannot be derived as in these cases the margin of error would be excessive.

Legal Opinion

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to his Department was of external legal services in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury's net spending on legal advice in 2007-08 was £1,331,000. For the earlier year, I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member by the former Financial Secretary (John Healey) on 18 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1494W.

Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme

Hugo Swire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to extend the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme beyond the end of March 2011.

Stephen Timms: The Government's long-term objective is to secure the necessary agreement at European level to allow the introduction of a reduced rate of VAT for church repairs, which is not currently permitted by EU VAT agreements. The European Commission has proposed changes to Directive 2006/112/EC to allow a reduced VAT rate to be applied to church repairs, as part of a broader proposal on reduced VAT rates, but member states' discussions of the proposal are ongoing. The Government will take into account any changes to EU VAT agreements when reviewing whether the current arrangements should be extended beyond 2011.

National Insurance Contributions

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of raising the earnings threshold on national insurance contributions to  (a) £5,000,  (b) £6,000 and  (c) £7,000 and lowering the class one employee main rate of national insurance contributions to (i) five per cent., (ii) six per cent., (iii) seven per cent., (iv) eight per cent., (v) nine per cent. and (vi) 10 per cent. in 2009-10;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of raising the upper earnings level on national insurance contributions to £45,000 and raising the class one employee additional rate to  (a) two per cent.,  (b) three per cent.,  (c) four per cent.,  (d) five per cent.  (e) six per cent.,  (f) seven per cent.,  (g) eight per cent. and  (h) nine per cent. in 2009-10;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of raising the upper earnings level on national insurance contributions to  (a) £45,000,  (b) £46,000,  (c) £47,000,  (d) £48,000,  (e) £49,000,  (f) £50,000,  (g) £51,000,  (h) £52,000,  (i) £53,000,  (j) £54,000 and  (k) £55,000 and lowering the Class 1 employee main rate to (i) two per cent., (ii) three per cent., (iii) four per cent., (iv) five per cent., (v) six per cent., (vi) seven per cent., (vii) eight per cent., (viii) nine per cent and (ix) 10 per cent. in 2009-10;
	(4)  if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of raising the upper earnings level on national insurance contributions to  (a) £45,000,  (b) £46,000,  (c) £47,000,  (d) £48,000,  (e) £49,000,  (f) £50,000,  (g) £51,000,  (h) £52,000,  (i) £53,000,  (j) £54,000, and  (k) £55,000 and raising the Class 1 employee main rate to (i) 12 per cent., (ii) 13 per cent., (iii) 14 per cent. and (iv) 15 per cent. in 2009-10.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available. The information available on the Exchequer effect of changes to national insurance contributions (NICs) rates and limits provides for costs estimates to be made where one variable, either NICs rates or limits, is altered. In scenarios involving the changing of both variables cost estimates cannot be derived as in these cases the margin of error would be excessive.

National Insurance Contributions

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of raising the Class 1 employee additional rate on national insurance contributions by  (a) one percentage point,  (b) two percentage points,  (c) three percentage points,  (d) four percentage points,  (e) five percentage points,  (f) six percentage points,  (g) seven percentage points,  (h) eight percentage points,  (i) nine percentage points and  (j) 10 percentage points in 2009-10;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of raising the upper earnings level on national insurance contributions to  (a) £45,000,  (b) £46,000,  (c) £47,000,  (d) £48,000,  (e) £49,000,  (f) £50,000,  (g) £51,000,  (h) £52,000,  (i) £53,000,  (j) £54,000 and  (k) £55,000 in 2009-10; and what estimate he has made of the cost of lowering the level to (i) £40,000, (ii) £41,000, (iii) £42,000 and (iv) £43,000 in 2009-10.

Stephen Timms: The Exchequer effect of changes in the Class 1 employee additional rate and to the upper earnings limit on national insurance contributions can be derived from table 1.6 'Direct effects of illustrative tax changes' on the HM Revenue and Customs website at
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/tablel-6.pdf
	The figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response.

National Insurance Fund

Hugo Swire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the merits of using future national insurance fund surpluses to fund an increase in the state pension.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend (Mr. O'Brien) the Minister for Pension Reform on 5 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2605W.
	Any increase in the basic state pension has a cumulative impact on Government spending going forward. The Government consider the short-term use of the surplus on the national insurance fund in this way to be unsustainable in the long term.

Non-Domestic Rates: Empty Property

David Crausby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reduce the level of liability for national non-domestic rates of empty business properties; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: In the pre-Budget report, the Government temporarily raised the threshold for exemption from national non-domestic rates on empty properties from £2,200 to £15,000 to take affect from 1 April 2009. As a result, an estimated 70 per cent. of empty properties will be exempt from business rates in the 2009-10 tax year.
	Any further decisions on taxation are matters for the Budget and pre-Budget report.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Louise Ellman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Valuation Office Agency in relation to the issuing of backdated business tax bills for businesses in statutory ports in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible solely for the assessment of business properties for rating, not for billing and collection matters and the date from which changes to rating lists take effect is prescribed by regulation.
	The VOA has recognised that, in the exercise of re-assessing rateable values within ports, it should have done more to inform businesses of developments. In common with other executive agencies, the performance of the agency is reviewed on a regular basis. A planned three-yearly review of the framework within which it operates is currently under way and will report by 31 May 2009. Full details can be found at
	www.hmrc.gov.uk.

Public Sector: Investment

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the level of public sector net investment in real terms, using 2006-07 prices, for each year from 2005-06 to 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Figures for public sector net investment (PSNI) in nominal terms from 2005-06 to 2007-08 can be found on the Office of National Statistics (ONS) first release for the public sector finances (Table PSF1). The December 2008 release is available on:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/psf0109.pdf
	Projections for PSNI in nominal terms (£ billion) and as a percentage of GDP up to 2013-14 can be found in Table B10 and Table B11 respectively of the 2008 pre-Budget report (p198).
	Historical figures for PSNI in real terms using 2007-08 prices and GDP deflator values are available on Table B5 of the Public Finances Databank, which is available on:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psf_statistics.htm
	GDP deflator values and projections can also be found on Table B1 of the 2008 pre-Budget report (p186) and are available on:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/data_gdp_fig.htm

Public Sector: Pensions

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 569-70W, on public sector: pensions, whether he has received representations on the affordability of public sector pensions since the publication of the report in March 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.

Revenue and Customs: Brecon

Roger Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the effect on HM Revenue and Customs expenditure of the closure of its office in Brecon, identifying  (a) costs and  (b) savings separately; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) office in Brecon is held under the terms of a PFI contract. Its closure will contribute to estimated annual estate savings of £4 million in Wales. These savings are only part of the overall savings HMRC expects to achieve as a result of business efficiencies arising from restructuring.
	While HMRC recognises that there will be short-term costs associated with the closure of its office in Brecon, reliable figures will only be established once solutions have been found for all staff and the building has been vacated.

Revenue and Customs: Consultants

Mark Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Revenue and Customs spent on consultants in  (a) total,  (b) England,  (c) Wales,  (d) Scotland and  (e) Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

Stephen Timms: During the years 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08, HMRC spent a total of £254,470,000 on consultancy services, the split for each of the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 106,020,000 
			 2006-07 88,906,000 
			 2007-08 59,544,000 
		
	
	The HMRC accounting codes do not enable identification of the geographical area of this spend.

State Retirement Pensions

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse if the pension addition at age 80 were increased to  (a) £2.50 and  (b) £5.00 in each of the next five years.

Rosie Winterton: I have been asked to reply.
	The estimated cost of increasing the age addition, at age 80, to  (a) £2.50 and  (b) £5.00, in each of the next five years is shown in the following table, as well as additional expenditure relative to that of the current level.
	Estimated cost of increasing the value of the age addition:
	
		
			   (a) Cost of age addition at £2.50  Additional expenditure  (b) Cost of age addition at £5.00  Additional expenditure 
			 2008-09 345 310 685 650 
			 2009-10 340 305 685 650 
			 2010-11 340 305 680 645 
			 2011-12 340 310 685 650 
			 2012-13 350 315 700 665 
			  Notes: 1. Costs are presented in £ million, for Great Britain, in 2008-09 terms, rounded to the nearest £5 million. 2. Additional expenditure is relative to the cost of the current level of age addition—£0.25.  Source: DWP modelling.

Tax Avoidance

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many accountancy firms have been investigated for selling tax avoidance schemes in the last 12 months.

Stephen Timms: Selling a tax avoidance scheme is not in itself an offence or a breach of statutory obligations that might trigger an HMRC investigation. However, scheme promoters are required to disclose information to HMRC about schemes falling within certain statutory descriptions. HMRC has investigated or is currently investigating more than 90 promoters suspected of failing to comply with a disclosure obligation.

Tax Credit: Databases

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the number of inaccurate records held on HM Revenue and Customs tax credit database.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will put right inaccuracies as they are identified. Information on the level of accuracy of processing tax credits awards can be found in HMRC's Departmental Reports available on its website at
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/reports.htm

VAT: Construction

Hugo Swire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect of a single 5 per cent. value added tax rate for all types of construction work on the construction industry.

Stephen Timms: No estimate of the effects of applying the reduced rate of VAT to all types of construction work has been made.

VAT: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the effect on consumer spending in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland constituencies of the reduction in the rate of value added tax to 15 per cent.

Stephen Timms: The economic forecast made in the pre-Budget report, based on realistic assumptions, assumed that, over time, the majority of the reduction in VAT will be passed on to consumers through lower prices, and that households will spend around half of the increase in real disposable income that results. Overall, GDP growth in 2009 is forecast to be around half a percentage point higher than it would be in the absence of the discretionary action that the Government have taken. A regional breakdown has not been made.

VAT: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the Cumbrian economy of the reduction in the rate of value added tax to 15 per cent.

Stephen Timms: The economic forecast made in the pre-Budget report, based on realistic assumptions, assumed that, over time, the majority of the reduction in VAT will be passed on to consumers through lower prices, and that households will spend around half of the increase in real disposable income that results. Overall, GDP growth in 2009 is forecast to be around half a percentage point higher than it would be in the absence of the discretionary action that the Government have taken. A separate assessment of the effect on the Cumbrian economy has not been made.

VAT: Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in discussions at EU level on reducing the rate of value added tax on energy-efficient products and energy-saving materials in the EU.

Stephen Timms: The European Commission announced in the "European Economic Recovery Plan" (COM (2008) 800) that it plans to bring forward a legislative proposal to allow reduced VAT rates for "green products and services, aimed at improving in particular (the) energy efficiency of buildings". The Commission is expected to adopt this legislative proposal in the coming months, at which point European Council discussions of the proposal will begin.

VAT: Schools

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy that the liability for value added tax in respect of construction projects should be the same for  (a) maintained schools and  (b) further education institutions.

Stephen Timms: Construction projects undertaken by both maintained schools and further education institutions are liable to VAT at the standard rate.
	The only exceptions are those projects which involve the construction of buildings intended for use by a charity solely for a non-business purpose. In such circumstances, the projects are liable to VAT at the zero rate.
	However, local authorities can usually reclaim from HMRC all VAT costs relating to the educational institutions that they maintain. These refund arrangements for local authorities reflect a commitment made when VAT was first introduced that VAT would not fall as a burden on local taxation. Since 1997, bodies other than local authorities have been admitted to these refund arrangements where they undertake a function ordinarily carried on by local government and have the power to draw their funding directly from local taxation. Unlike local authority maintained institutions, further education institutions do not meet the second of these conditions.
	Bids for public funding by further education institutions are therefore expected to take into account that they are not eligible for the VAT refund arrangements that apply for local authority maintained institutions.

VAT: Tax Rates and Bands

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of companies which have not passed on the recent reduction in value added tax to 15 per cent. to customers; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Office for National Statistics published statistics on UK inflation in December on 20 January 2009 including detail on the pass-on rate of the temporary VAT reduction, and found that most businesses had passed on the reduction. The ONS report can be found at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/cpi0109.pdf.

Welfare Tax Credits: Wimbledon

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit claimants in Wimbledon constituency were overpaid tax credits in each of the last five years.

Stephen Timms: Estimates of the number of families with tax credit awards, including information on overpayments by local authority, based on final family circumstances and incomes, for the years 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 are available in the HMRC publications "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards. Supplement on Payments. Geographical Analyses", for each relevant year. These publications are available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm
	Estimates for 2007-08 are not yet available.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service: Witnesses

Simon Hughes: To ask the Solicitor-General how many Crown Prosecution Service prosecutions have been discontinued as a result of prosecution witnesses being unwilling to give evidence in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: The following table shows the number of defendants whose case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) before evidence was heard in magistrates and Crown courts in each of the last three years. The reasons for these decisions are divided into evidential reasons, public interest reasons, cases that were unable to proceed, and other reasons. Further explanation of each division is illustrated, including cases that were dropped because a victim or witness refused to give evidence.
	The table also shows the number and proportion of defendants whose case resulted in a conviction.
	The number of cases that were dropped because a victim refused to give evidence fell from a total of 8,785 in 2006 to 5,991 in 2008 or, in proportional terms, from 0.8 per cent. of completed cases to 0.6 per cent. The number of cases dropped because other witnesses refused to give evidence fell over the same period from 1,097 (0.1 per cent. of completed cases) to 725 (0.1 per cent.). These improvements illustrate the growing success of a number of initiatives which aim to provide vulnerable and intimidated victims and witnesses with more effective support. These include special measures allowing evidence to be given, for example, from behind screens or via live video links. The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (the Victims' Code) sets out the standards of service which victims can expect of the Criminal Justice System. These commitments are reinforced by the CPS Public Policy Statement on the Delivery of Services to Victims (the Prosecutors' Pledge), launched by the Attorney-General in October 2005, which sets out the level of service that victims can expect of prosecutors. Police and CPS Witness Care Units (WCU) now provide an enhanced level of service to victims and witnesses in cases where charges have been brought, and procedures have been put in place to measure and respond to witness satisfaction through the Witness and Victim Experience Survey.
	Victims and witnesses remain a core priority for the CPS for the years ahead.
	
		
			  Crown Prosecution Service prosecutions dropped 
			2006  2007  2008 
			Vol.  Percentage  Vol.  Percentage  Vol.  Percentage 
			 E10 Key witness does not support case 1,841 0.2 1,859 0.2 1,637 0.2 
			 E11 Unreliable/lack of identification 5,962 0.5 4,951 0.5 4,005 0.4 
			 E1 Inadmissible evidence—Breach of PACE 189 0.0 228 0.0 186 0.0 
			 E2 Inadmissible evidence—other than Breach of PACE 422 0.0 336 0.0 262 0.0 
			 E3 Unreliable confession 75 0.0 81 0.0 79 0.0 
			 E4 Conflict of evidence 7,322 0.7 7,487 0.7 7,521 0.7 
			 E5 Essential medical evidence missing 279 0.0 195 0.0 153 0.0 
			 E6 Essential forensic evidence missing 952 0.1 949 0.1 972 0.1 
			 E7 Essential legal element missing 31,224 2.8 26,947 2.5 23,729 2.3 
			 E8 Unreliable witness or witnesses 3,862 0.4 3,482 0.3 3,031 0.3 
			 E9 Key victim does not support case 6,797 0.6 7,026 0.7 6,383 0.6 
			  Evidential reasons 58,925 5.4 53,541 5.0 47,958 4.6 
			 
			 P12 Effect on victim's physical or mental health 473 0.0 441 0.0 369 0.0 
			 P13 Suspect/Defendant elderly or in significant ill health 1,647 0.1 1,628 0.2 1,485 0.1 
			 P14 Loss or harm minor and single incident 845 0.1 922 0.1 740 0.1 
			 P15 Loss or harm put right 1,345 0.1 1,278 0.1 1,030 0.1 
			 P16 Long delay between offence/charge or trial 3,292 0.3 2,647 0.2 2,015 0.2 
			 P17 Very small or nominal penalty 3,744 0.3 3,209 0.3 2,478 0.2 
			 P18 Other indictment/sentence 8,652 0.8 8,760 0.8 7,034 0.7 
			 P19 Informer or other public interest immunity issues 1,107 0.1 929 0.1 745 0.1 
			 P20 Caution more suitable 4,865 0.4 4,703 0.4 3,667 0.4 
			 P21 Youth of offender 305 0.0 342 0.0 238 0.0 
			 P22 Conditional Caution more suitable 0 0.0 42 0.0 407 0.0 
			 P36 Inappropriate to compel victim 393 0.0 630 0.1 474 0.0 
			 P37 Inappropriate to compel witness 165 0.0 212 0.0 201 0.0 
			  Public interest reasons 26,833 2.4 25,743 2.4 20,883 2.0 
			 
			 U22 File not received from police—adjournment refused 1,252 0.1 1,182 0.1 1,133 0.1 
			 U23 CPS not ready—adjournment refused 995 0.1 917 0.1 706 0.1 
			 U24 Offence taken into consideration 420 0.0 401 0.0 324 0.0 
			 U25 Victim refuses to give evidence or retracts 8,785 0.8 7,717 0.7 5,991 0.6 
			 U26 Other witness refuses to give evidence or retracts 1,097 0.1 956 0.1 725 0.1 
			 U27 Victim fails to attend unexpectedly 5,202 0.5 6,075 0.6 5,260 0.5 
			 U28 Other civilian witness fails to attend unexpectedly 1,827 0.2 1,771 0.2 1,346 0.1 
			 U29 Police witness fails to attend unexpectedly 1,349 0.1 1,157 0.1 909 0.1 
			 U30 Victim intimidation 10 0.0 9 0.0 3 0.0 
			 U31 Other civilian witness intimidation 15 0.0 9 0.0 5 0.0 
			 U32 Documents produced at court 5,934 0.5 4,728 0.4 3,779 0.4 
			  Unable to proceed 26,886 2.4 24,922 2.3 20,181 1.9 
			 
			 033 Bind over acceptable 9,207 0.8 6,431 0.6 4,240 0.4 
			 034 Acquittal after trial 522 0.0 468 0.0 386 0.0 
			 035 Other 2,728 0.2 1,451 0.1 1,174 0.1 
			  Other reasons 12,457 1.1 8,350 0.8 5,800 0.6 
			 
			  Total prosecutions dropped 125,101 11.4 112,556 10.5 94,822 9.1 
			 
			  Total unsuccessful outcomes 185,801 16.9 164,410 15.3 140,518 13.5 
			  Total convictions 914,063 83.1 907,907 84.7 900,836 86.5 
			  Total prosecutions 1,099,864 — 1,072,317 — 1,041,354 —

Homicide

John McDonnell: To ask the Solicitor-General how many successful prosecutions the Crown Prosecution Service has brought for offences related to corporate manslaughter under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2008.

Vera Baird: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) data collection system records the number of offences under each Act and section, which have been referred to the CPS for prosecution. CPS records show that, up to 30 January 2009, no offences under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (no similarly named statute was enacted in 2008) have been referred to the CPS for prosecution. However, the outcomes of any cases prosecuted under this statute will be subsumed into data held on various categories of homicide cases, as the CPS electronic data system currently cannot hold information on the outcome of proceedings at the level of detail requested by the hon. Member.

Proceeds of Crime

Owen Paterson: To ask the Solicitor-General how many civil recovery actions in respect of criminal assets the Crown Prosecution Service has initiated in the first nine months of 2008-09.

Vera Baird: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has initiated no civil recovery actions in respect of criminal assets in the first nine months of 2008-09.

Proceeds of Crime

Owen Paterson: To ask the Solicitor-General when she expects the  (a) Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office and  (b) Serious Fraud Office to begin to undertake civil recovery actions in respect of criminal assets; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: The RCPO considers whether, on the facts of the cases it has before it, civil recovery proceedings are appropriate and it will continue to do so. In so doing, it bears in mind the Guidance by the Secretary of State to the Director of the Assets Recovery Agency dated 7 February 2005.
	The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) recently completed an in-depth review of its approach to all aspects of proceeds of crime activity. This review resulted in a number of recommendations to the director, who has since formed a dedicated proceeds of crime team. The structure of this team is being finalised, with resources being drawn from across the organisation. The team will be fully operational by April 2009.
	In order to undertake a civil recovery investigation, staff are required to obtain accreditation for Part 5 powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) from the National Policing Improvements Agency. The SFO is assisting in the development of the training that leads to accreditation in order to accelerate this process. To date no officers within the SFO hold accreditation under part 5 of POCA.
	The organisation is expecting civil recovery action to commence once the new team is in place. The SFO does not have any assets under restraint in relation to civil recovery cases.
	In October last year the SFO successfully obtained its first civil recovery settlement for £2.5 million with Balfour Beatty plc. Approximately £1 million of this settlement will be used by the SFO to invest in its asset recovery work, further strengthening its capability to conduct civil recovery investigations.

Proceeds of Crime: Northern Ireland

Owen Paterson: To ask the Solicitor-General how many civil recovery actions against criminal assets have been initiated by the Public Prosecutions Service in Northern Ireland in the first nine months of the 2008-09 financial year.

Vera Baird: The PPS has not, to date, initiated any civil recovery actions against criminal assets. Such actions are currently initiated by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). The PPS is in discussion with SOCA to develop a memorandum of understanding to provide advice and assistance between the PPS and SOCA, including arrangements to deal with civil recovery cases. The PPS remains responsible for criminal confiscation following conviction.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions: Energy

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much energy suppliers have spent on their carbon emissions reduction target obligations to date; and how the level of such spending is monitored by the Government.

Joan Ruddock: Energy suppliers' targets under the carbon emissions reduction target are set in terms of household carbon savings rather than spending. Ofgem, the scheme administrator, does not collect data on energy supplier spend. Based on the costs of the measures promoted by suppliers we estimate that the overall costs to suppliers of delivering their obligations will exceed £3 billion over the period 2008-2011.
	Supplier spend under the energy efficiency commitment over the period 2002-2008 has been independently estimated at £1325 million.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been spent by his Department on  (a) agency and  (b) temporary staff since it was established.

Mike O'Brien: The Department has spent  (a) £186,000 on agency staff and  (b) £172,000 on temporary staff since it was established.

Departmental Working Hours

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many days off in lieu were granted to staff in his Department for working  (a) in lunch breaks and  (b) at other times outside contracted working hours, in the last year for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: The Department of Energy and Climate Change has been formed by bringing together work previously covered by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The final details of staff transferring from these Departments are yet to be confirmed.
	However, it has not been the policy of these Departments to manage and monitor time off in lieu centrally. Authority is delegated to local line managers. The Department would incur a disproportionate cost if it were to manage this process centrally.

Members: Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when the Minister for Housing will reply to the letters of 13 October 2008 and 9 December 2008 from the hon. Member for the Forest of Dean, reference FD 7358, on free loft cavity insulation for those aged over 70 years.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 22 January 2009
	I replied to the hon. Member on 22 January and apologise for the delay in responding, which was due to departmental reorganisation.

Oil: Balance of Payments

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the contribution to the UK balance of payments of the UK oil and gas sector.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated February 2009:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made of the contribution to the UK balance of payments of the UK oil and gas sector. (255150).
	Exports of energy products (including oil, gas, electricity and coal) were £24.7 billion in 2007 compared with total exports of goods of £220.7 billion. In the first 11 months of 2008, exports of energy products were £32.8 billion compared with total exports of goods of £230.8 billion. Imports of energy products were £31.9 billion in 2007 compared with total imports of £310.0 billion. In the first 11 months of 2008, imports of energy products were £44.8 billion compared with total imports of goods of £317.0 billion.
	Earnings on direct investment abroad (credits) by oil and gas (extraction and production) companies were £14.9 billion in 2007 out of a total for all industries of £89.9 billion. Earnings on direct investment in oil and gas (extraction and production) companies in the UK (debits) were £10.0 billion in 2007 out of a total for all industries of £44.8 billion.

Warm Front Scheme

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what grant provision is available from the Warm Zone scheme to otherwise eligible citizens for materials for insulation work carried out by themselves rather than through a contractor.

Joan Ruddock: Warm Zones Ltd., operated by National Energy Action, brings together, using an area-based approach, all of the assistance available to households through the Government-funded Warm Front scheme and energy supplier activity under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT). Whilst these schemes do not provide direct grant to—individuals who choose to carry out insulation work themselves, energy suppliers do work with major retailers to provide subsidies for DIY loft insulation materials. Additionally, tailored, free and impartial advice is available through the government-funded Act on CO2 advice line run by the Energy Saving Trust.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Public Appointments

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of the public appointments for which his Department is responsible are due to be  (a) renewed and  (b) filled in the next 24 months; what the (i) remit, (ii) salary, (iii) political restriction, (iv) eligibility requirement and (v) timetable for each appointment is; and what records his Department keeps in respect of such appointments.

Paul Goggins: Information on appointments made by the Department is published in the Northern Ireland Office's Annual Report on the Department's website:
	http://www.nio.gov.uk/.
	More detailed information about individual appointments is set out in the relevant body's Annual Report. Vacancies may be advertised on the Cabinet Office Public Appointments website at www.publicappointments.gov.uk. The process for making a public appointment, including guidance on political activity and eligibility criteria, complies with the Cabinet Office publication "Making and Managing Public Appointments". For appointments regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, the appointments process also complies with the "Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies". Copies are available in the Libraries of the House.

Road Traffic Offences

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vehicles have been seized from  (a) disqualified and  (b) uninsured drivers in Northern Ireland in each of the last two years.

Paul Goggins: Vehicles can be seized if they are unlicensed, being driven while uninsured, or in a manner causing alarm, distress or annoyance. Driving while disqualified does not in itself permit the seizure of a vehicle.
	Unlicensed vehicle seizure is a matter for the Driver and Vehicle Agency, and the Department of Environment for Northern Ireland can supply the relevant information.
	New regulations permitting the seizure of vehicles being driven while uninsured came into effect on 6 January 2009. Similar regulations came into effect on the same date permitting the seizure of vehicles causing alarm, distress or annoyance (such as quad bikes, go-peds, or scramblers). Figures are not yet available for the numbers seized to date.
	In terms of convictions for the substantive offences, in 2005 and 2006 (the latest years for which data are available) there were 1,314 and 1,104 convictions respectively for driving while disqualified. For the same years, 3,884 and 3,868 convictions were secured for driving without insurance.
	Data are collated on the principal offence rule; so only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.

DEFENCE

Absent Without Leave

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel went absent without leave in each month of 2008.

Bob Ainsworth: Records held centrally on service personnel who have gone absent without leave (AWOL) relate to the number of incidents reported, not to the number of personnel. Information about the number of incidents of AWOL reported monthly in the Army is not held centrally.
	The following table shows AWOL statistics for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force for each month of 2008, and the total number of AWOL incidents reported in the Army for 2008.
	
		
			   Incidents of reported AWOL 
			   Royal Navy  Army  Royal Air Force 
			 January 10 — 1 
			 February 10 — 0 
			 March 5 — 0 
			 April 5 — 1 
			 May 10 — 1 
			 June 20 — 0 
			 July 15 — 1 
			 August 10 — 0 
			 September 15 — 0 
			 October 10 — 0 
			 November 5 — 1 
			 December 10 — 0 
			 Total 125 2,105 5 
			  Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest five. 2. All three services record AWOL statistics by the number of incidences of AWOL rather than the number of people who have gone AWOL, so there may be a number of people who are represented more than once in these figures. While the figures reflect the number of reports of AWOL, it may come to light later that there are extenuating circumstances and therefore does not reflect the number of personnel who went on to be formally charged with AWOL.

Armed Forces

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which units form part of each UK-based regional brigade; and at which location each such unit is based.

Kevan Jones: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Regional brigade  Unit  Location 
			 HQ London District Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment Knightsbridge 
			  1 Grenadier Guards Birdcage Walk 
			  1 Irish Guards Windsor 
			  106 Regiment RA (V) Grove Park 
			  151 Transport Regiment RLC (V) Croydon 
			  The Honourable Artillery Company Finsbury Park 
			  The London Regiment Clapham 
			  The Royal Yeomanry Croydon 
			
			 15 North East Brigade 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment Leeds 
			  4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment York 
			  5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (V) Durham 
			  34 Signal Regiment (V) Middlesbrough 
			  72 Engineer Regiment (V) Gateshead 
			  101 Regiment RA (V) Gateshead 
			  102 Battalion REME (V) Aycliffe 
			  150 Transport Regiment (V) Hull 
			  Queen's Own Yeomanry Newcastle 
			
			 42 North West Brigade 4th Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment Preston 
			  33 Signal Regiment (V) Liverpool 
			  75 Engineer Regiment (V) Warrington 
			  103 Regiment (V) St. Helens 
			  156 Transport Regiment (V) Liverpool 
			
			 51 Scottish Brigade 6th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland Glasgow 
			  7th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland Perth 
			  71 Engineer Regiment (V) St. Andrews 
			  105 Regiment RA (V) Edinburgh 
			  225 Medical Regiment (V) Dundee 
			  Scottish Transport Regiment RLC (V) Dunfermline 
			
			 2 (South East) Brigade 3rd Battalion Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment Canterbury 
			  103 Battalion REME (V) Crawley 
			
			 43 (Wessex) Brigade 6th Battalion The Rifles Exeter 
			  155 Transport Regiment RLC (V) Plymouth 
			  The Royal Wessex Yeomanry Bovington 
			
			 145 (South) Brigade 7th Battalion The Rifles Reading 
			
			 49 (East) Brigade 3rd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment Bury St. Edmunds 
			  73 Regiment RE (V) Nottingham 
			  100 Regiment RA (V) Luton 
			  158 Transport Regiment (V) Peterborough 
			  254 Medical Regiment (V) Cambridge 
			
			 143 (West Midlands) Brigade 4th Battalion The Mercian Regiment Wolverhampton 
			  35 Signal Regiment (V) Coventry 
			  159 Supply Regiment RLC (V) West Bromwich 
			  The Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry Telford 
			
			 160 (Wales) Brigade 3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh Regiment Cardiff 
			  104 Regiment RA (V) Newport 
			  The Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia) Monmouth 
			  Welsh Transport Regiment RLC (V) Cardiff 
			
			 38 Irish Brigade 2nd Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment Armagh 
			  152 Transport Regiment RLC (V) Belfast 
			  253 Medical Regiment (V) Belfast

Armed Forces: Qualifications

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what levels of academic qualification were reached by recruits to the  (a) Army,  (b) Navy and  (c) Air Force in 2008; and how many recruits at each level there were.

Bob Ainsworth: The information on academic qualifications of recruits is not held in the format requested and differs between the three services. However, the available data for the Navy and Army are provided: the Navy section providing a breakdown of the academic qualifications overall, while the Army section offers a summary split by officer and other ranks. Unfortunately, due to IT problems within the RAF it is not currently possible to extract the necessary data. I will write to the hon. Member with information for the RAF when this is available and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
	 NAVY
	The following table reflects the numbers of each qualification held by all new recruits who joined between 1 January-31 December 2008.
	
		
			Number 
			 Level 7 Masters 2 
			 Level 6 Bachelors 46 
			 Level 5 BTEC HNCs, HNDs, Foundation Degrees and HNDs 14 
			 Level 4 CHE 1 
			 Level 3 A levels 436 
			  AS Levels 282 
			  GNVQ Advanced 9 
			  BTEC National Certificate 27 
			  BTEC National Diploma 59 
			  NVQ Level 3 24 
			  Key Skills Level 3 30 
			  VCE Double award 1 
			  VCE A Level 1 
			  VCE AS Level 1 
			 Level 2 GCSEs A-C 5250 
			  BTEC First Diplomas 29 
			  BTEC First Certificate 7 
			  NVQ Level 2 112 
			  GNVQ Intermediate 61 
			  Key Skills Level 2 387 
			 Level 1 GCSE D-G 484 
			  GNVQ Foundation 8 
			  Key Skills Level 1 183 
			  NVQ Level 1 49 
		
	
	In addition, here are the figures for the Scottish qualifications framework
	
		
			 Scottish Advanced Higher 3 
			 Scottish National Certificate 1 
			 Scottish Higher 89 
			 Scottish Intermediate 1 48 
			 Scottish Intermediate 2 97 
			 Scottish Standard A-C 590 
			 Scottish Standard D-G 37 
		
	
	Recruits were also recorded as having 658 'Basic Skills', 39 'GCEs', two 'CSEs' and three Modern apprenticeships.
	 ARMY
	Basic Skills Levels—The Army reflects the national basic skills picture (within 1 per cent.). Roughly 45 per cent. of all soldiers joining the Army are below Level 1 (GCSE D-G) but since August 2003 80 per cent. of soldiers achieve LI literacy and numeracy within three years. Since 2002, 21,874 national literacy and numeracy qualifications have been awarded to soldiers.
	Apprenticeships—65 per cent. of soldiers (4,800) embark on an apprenticeship at either Level 2 (GCSE A*-C) or 3 (A Level) either within Phase 2 training or the Field Army. The Army's achievement rate of apprenticeships is 75 per cent. compared to the national average of 60 per cent. Apprenticeships also include support for literacy and numeracy and as part of the apprenticeship soldiers gain Level 1 literacy and numeracy qualifications.
	Accreditation—The majority of training within the Army is accredited to nationally recognised qualifications (March 2007 to April 2008 there were 15,451 Awards). These awards range from Level 1 qualifications through to masters degrees.
	Learning credits—All soldiers are entitled to claim learning credits to support their elective educational courses which include academic and vocational qualifications.
	 Officers
	In 2007-08, 585 cadets who commenced training at the Royal Military academy Sandhurst (RMAS) were graduate entrants this represents 82 per cent. of a total of 715 who began the standard career courses.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many recruitment advertisements have been commissioned by his Department for each service in each month since 1998.

Kevan Jones: The number of individual advertisements produced will depend on the messages to be communicated and the weight of planned exposure which varies from campaign to campaign. It is not, therefore, possible to calculate how many individual advertisements were commissioned in the last 10 years without incurring disproportionate cost. The information for each of the services that is available is given in the following tables:
	
		
			  Navy 
			  Year  Number of campaigns  Media used  Time period 
			  Royal Navy TV August + January 
			   TV partnership January 
			   Online August (running through to March 2009) 
			  Royal Marines Cinema November + December to March 
			   Pub TV November + January to March 
			   TV sponsorship January 
			   Out of Home January to February 
			   Mobile January to February 
			   Online October (running through to March 2009) 
			 
			 2007-08 Royal Navy TV October to November + January to March 
			   Online October to March 
			  Royal Marines Cinema October to March 
			   Pub TV February—March 
			   Out of Home October to February 
			   Press partnership February to May 
			   Online October to March 
			 
			 2006-07 Royal Navy TV January + March 
			   Pub TV January + March 
			   Cinema February to March 
			   Magazine advertorials January to March 
			   Regional press classifieds February 
			   Online January—March 
			 
			 
			 2005-06 Royal Navy TV September to October 
			   Pub TV September to November 
			   Out of Home September 
			   Radio September to November 
			   Online September to November 
			  Royal Marines TV September to October + February to March 
			   Radio September to October 
			   Press magazines September to November + February to March 
			   Online September to November + January to March 
			   Out of Home September 
			 
			 
			 2004-05 Royal Navy TV August to September + January 
			   Pub TV August to November + January to March 
			   Radio August to November + January to February 
			   Online August to March 
			  Royal Marines Cinema August to October + January to February 
			   Radio September to November 
			   Press magazines August to December + February to Mar 
			   Online October to November + February to March 
			   Out of Home August + February 
			   Direct Marketing November to March 
			 
			 
			 2003-04 Royal Navy Pub TV September to November + January to March 
			   Cinema September to March 
			   Press magazines September to November + January to March 
			   Online August to March 
			   Radio August to November + January to Feb 
			   National press August 
			  Royal Marines TV August to November + January to February 
			   Cinema June + September + November + January 
			   Press magazines July to November + January to March 
			   Online September to October + January to February 
			   Out of Home August + January 
		
	
	
		
			  Army 
			  Year  Time period  Campaign name 
			 1998 January Officer TV 
			  January—February Soldier TV 
			  February—March TATV 
			  April Soldier TV 
			  June—July Soldier TV 
			
			 1999 January Soldier TV 
			  February—March TATV 
			  April—May Soldier and Officer TV 
			  June 10" TV 
			
			 2000 February—March TATV 
			  April Soldier TV 
			  September—October Soldier TV 
			
			 2001 January Soldier TV 
			  April Soldier TV 
			  May Soldier TV 
			  September—November Soldier TV 
			
			 2002 January—February Soldier TV 
			  March TATV 
			  April National Press 
			  April—June Soldier TV 
			  September National Press/Specialist Trade media 
			  September—November Soldier TV 
			  October—November Officer National Press 
			  April—December Officer Careers Titles and Online 
			
			 2003 January National Press 
			  January—March Soldier TV 
			  January—March Officer Careers Titles and Online 
			  April—May National Press 
			  April—June Soldier TV 
			  April—December Officer Career Titles 
			  June Army Medical Services National Press 
			  September—October TV and National Press 
			  November Officer Online 
			
			 2004 January—March Regular/TA TV 
			  January—December Officer Career Titles 
			  February—March Army Medical Services National Press 
			  March Officer National Press 
			  April Regular/TA national press 
			  April TA cinema 
			  April—May TA, Combat roles, NI TV 
			  August—November NITV 
			  August Gatekeepers national press 
			  September—November Technical Trades TV 
			  September—October TA national press 
			  November Army Cadet Force TV 
			  November Regular national press 
			  December Army Grants TV 
			  December Future Army structure national and regional press 
			
			 2005 January—March Future Army structure, NI, Trade specific, ACF and Grants Regular TV; Young Officer and Medical Services TA TV 
			  January—March Army Medical Services specialist press and online 
			  January—March Officer careers titles 
			  February Regular national press 
			  February—March Future Army structure national/regional press 
			  March—April TA Radio 
			  April—May Soldier TV, interactive TV 
			  April—June NI TV, Technical Trades TV (Scotland) 
			  August Officer clearing press and online 
			  June—September TA TV—Soldier and Medical Services 
			  July Soldier TV and national press advertorials 
			  July—September Army Grants TV 
			  July—December Interactive TV 
			  September Soldier TV 
			  September—October TA Young Officer TV 
			  September—December Welbeck Defence College TV, NI TV, Soldier advertorials and radio editorial, Intelligence Corps magazines 
			  October—December Officer TV, magazines, online 
			  October—November Officer national/regional press, online, outdoor 
			  November TA Medical Services radio 
			
			 2006 January Infantry radio advertising and bus supersides/headliners, Welbeck TV 
			  January—February Infantry national press 
			  January—March Infantry TV, NI TV, Infantry mobile, Soldier radio editorial and magazine advertorials, Intell Corps magazines, interactive TV 
			  February—March Infantry magazines 
			  April—June Everest West Ridge TV, radio editorial 
			  April Everest West Ridge outdoor and national press 
			  April—December Specialist press/online, interactive TV 
			  May Everest West Ridge radio advertising/sales and promotion 
			  May—June Everest West Ridge online search and display 
			  July—December Infantry TV 
			  July—August Infantry radio editorial 
			  August Officer clearing press and online search 
			  November Camouflage Youth CRM programme TV 
			  October—November TA Officer radio editorial 
			  October—November HE campus pilot—Nottingham. Local radio advertising, campus screensavers, Union bar TV, campus/local cinema/local pub postcards, six sheet posters and phone boxes, bus headliners and streetliners, washroom panels/mirror stickers and beermats in local pubs 
			
			 2007 January—March Infantry TV, interactive TV, online search, national press/magazine advertorials, radio editorial 
			  January—March Specialist press/online 
			  April—August One Army Recruiting (OAR) TV 
			  April—June Interactive TV 
			  April OAR radio advertising, national press, outdoor 
			  April—December Online search 
			  May—December Magazines 
			  July Online display—recruitment sites 
			  July—August Radio sales and promotion 
			  August—September Officer clearing press/online 
			  August NW regional press 
			  September—December OAR II TV, magazine advertorials, national press partnerships 
			  September NE/NW radio advertising, Scottish regional press 
			  September—October Scottish radio editorial, NE/NW bus streetliners 
			  October—November OAR II radio advertising 
			  December TA Young Officer press, Management Today 
			
			 2008 January—March OAR II TV, radio editorial, national press partnerships, magazine advertising and advertorials 
			  January—February Infantry and Professionally Qualified Officers advertorials 
			  March Radio advertising 
			  April—June OAR II TV 
			  April—May Reputation TV 
			  July—August Women in the Army TV and advertorials 
			  September—December Infantry TV, national press, magazines, online search 
			  September—October Infantry radio 
			  September—November Infantry outdoor (gyms/goal centres) 
			  November—December TV, radio, press, online 
			  December Graduate national press and online 
		
	
	 RAF
	The RAF run one major recruitment campaign each year using a variety of media outlets. It is not possible to identify how many separate advertisements are run within this campaign without disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent steps he has taken to increase recruitment from ethnic minority groups into the armed forces.

Kevan Jones: The armed forces have established ethnic minority recruiting teams in areas with large ethnic minority populations aimed at promoting service careers.
	They are engaged in numerous and varied initiatives to encourage more young people from ethnic minority backgrounds to join the armed forces. These include forming new community partnerships, holding personal development courses for schools and community groups, and holding open days and visits to service establishments. The Royal Navy's diversity action team gives presentations in schools, colleges and to community groups, organises five-day personal development courses, attends careers, and cultural and religious festivals and events and engages potential recruits and their gatekeepers. The Army's diversity action recruiting team (DART) provides role models to young people from ethnic minority backgrounds at recruiting events throughout the country. The RAF's motivational outreach team participates in schools' careers conventions, festivals and sporting events, and visits to youth organisations and ATC/CCF squadrons. They also arrange visits for young people from ethnic minorities to RAF stations.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any plans to order battlefield evacuation vehicles in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: A number of battlefield evacuation vehicles (ambulances) are in service. These include variants of Mastiff, Vector, Viking, Bulldog, CVR(T), Land Rover and Saxon. In addition to these, there are ambulance variants in the current orders for Ridgeback, Warthog and tranche 2 of Mastiff. Plans for the next 12 months include the ordering of an ambulance variant in the procurement of the Husky Medium Tactical Support Vehicle.

Departmental Pensions

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to advise staff of pension options available to them in relation to added years or additional voluntary contributions.

Kevan Jones: Members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme receive an annual benefit statement showing the pension built up to date, and also a projection of their pension on retirement if they continue in service to scheme pension age. The benefit statement prompts the member to consider boosting their pension and provides details of the civil service pensions website where staff can obtain further information, including options for making additional voluntary contributions and a calculator to work out costs for added pension (previously added years).
	New entrants are informed of pension options in the employment offer and are provided with a pension information pack.
	The Defence intranet provides comprehensive coverage of the terms and conditions of employment of the Department's civil servants. This includes information on pension schemes and the ways in which staff can increase their pension benefits. The intranet gives links to the civil service pensions website that explains added pension and additional voluntary contributions for members. The information is also available in scheme booklets which can be accessed via the civil service pensions website or on request from the member's pensions administrator.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by his Department on  (a) agency and  (b) temporary staff in each financial year since 2005-06.

Kevan Jones: Until November 2006, MOD business units were individually responsible for engaging their own temporary staff. Since November 2006, a limited service to engage temporary staff has been provided through the People Pay and Pensions Agency (PPPA). This does not yet cover all the grades employed by the MOD, or all MOD locations and therefore individual business units are still making their own arrangements to engage temporary staff in some circumstances. This means that information on how much was spent on agency and temporary staff in each financial year since 2005-06 is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Since November 2006, the Department has spent £12.3 million on temporary staff engaged through the PPPA.

EU Rapid Reaction Force

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and which  (a) troops and  (b) military assets the United Kingdom has contributed to each EU Force Catalogue in each year since 2000.

Kevan Jones: The UK has contributed to two EU Force Catalogues, one for the Helsinki Headline Goal in 2004 and the other for the Headline Goal 2010 which superseded the Helsinki Headline Goal in 2006.
	For details on our Headline Goal 2010 return, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 4 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2348W.

Navy: Deployment

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what naval resources he  (a) has deployed and  (b) plans to deploy to (i) the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia and (ii) the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Gaza.

Bob Ainsworth: The Royal Navy is providing the following assets in the Indian ocean off the coast of Somalia.
	An enduring commitment of a frigate to the Combined Maritime Forces: currently HMS Portland operating in the Gulf of Aden;
	An enduring commitment of an Arabian Gulf Ready Tanker, supporting coalition operations in the Middle East region, including the Indian ocean: currently RFA Wave Knight;
	HMS Northumberland for the first period of the EU counter-piracy mission, Operation Atalanta.
	In the Mediterranean sea, we have an enduring commitment of a frigate to Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2): currently HMS St. Albans.
	We are also considering the provision of naval resources to counter the smuggling of weapons into Gaza in co-operation with international efforts.

RAF Menwith Hill: Security

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who meets the costs of policing outside the perimeter of RAF Menwith Hill.

Bob Ainsworth: The Ministry of Defence and North Yorkshire Police share the costs of policing outside the perimeter of RAF Menwith Hill.

RAF St. Athan: Welsh Language

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the costs for contractors working on the defence training establishment proposed for St. Athan of providing all their services bilingually under the terms of the Welsh Language Legislative Competence Order.

Bob Ainsworth: No estimate has been made by the MOD of potential bilingual costs. The costs for contractors are a responsibility of the Metrix Consortium as developer of the Defence Technical Academy on the St. Athan site.
	The Department has a Welsh language scheme and in the conduct of its business with the public in Wales treats the English and Welsh languages on a basis of equality.

SERCO

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value was of his Department's contracts held with SERCO in each of the last five financial years.  [Official Report, 27 March 2009, Vol. 490, c. 6MC.]

Bob Ainsworth: The value of contracts with SERCO Group PLC, in terms of spend, in each of the last five financial years was as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2003-04 244 
			 2004-05 361 
			 2005-06 431 
			 2006-07 433 
			 2007-08 763 
		
	
	The figures are shown exclusive of VAT rounded to the nearest million. They exclude any contracts placed by MOD Trading Funds or by British Defence staff (Washington) and low-value purchase transactions, for which records are not held centrally.

Warships

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to be able to announce the decision on where to base port the Royal Navy's frigates.

Quentin Davies: I refer the hon. Member to my answer on 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 113W.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Internet

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which websites are operated by his Department in addition to its main website; and what the operating budget for those websites is.

Michael Foster: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Website operated by DFID   Operating budget (£) 
			 Research for Development (R4D) (www.research4development.info) 2007-08 20,850 
			  2008-09 34,625 
			
			 Developments (www.developments.org.uk) 2007-08 9,039 
			  2008-09 9,039

Departmental Recruitment

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many new recruits his Department employed in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07,  (c) 2007-08 and  (d) 2008-09; how many of these were (i) permanent, (ii) temporary and (iii) agency staff; and what estimate he has made of equivalent recruitment numbers in (A) 2009-10 and (B) 2010-11.

Ivan Lewis: The following table shows the number of new recruits into DFID between 1 April 2005 and 31 January 2009 broken down into (i) permanent and (ii) temporary staff.
	Central records of agency staff employed during this period are not held.
	
		
			  Date  Permanent  Temporary (fixed term contract) 
			 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 60 16 
			 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 51 26 
			 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 47 11 
			 1 April 2008 to 31 January 2009 68 27 
		
	
	DFID has not made a detailed estimate of recruitment numbers for future years, but does not anticipate any significant increases from recent years.

Members: Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he plans to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood, dated 9 October 2008, on the engagement of his Department's offices in Uganda with the Kingdom of Bunyoro Kitara.

Ivan Lewis: A reply to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood has been issued.

Palestinians: Health Services

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment has been made of the availability of medicines and medical supplies in Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The United Nations reports that many medicines and medical supplies are generally available. However there are critical shortages of, for example, certain anaesthetics and essential medical equipment such as defibrillators and syringe pumps.
	Gaza's health infrastructure has long been under severe strain due to the restrictions on access for people, commercial goods and humanitarian supplies. Going forward repairing and maintaining health facilities will be a priority. Frequent power cuts and subsequent reliance on generators increases the risk of damaging medicines that need consistent temperature regulation, as well as of harming patients dependent on medical equipment in intensive care. The conflict has exacerbated all these problems as restrictions on Gaza's borders have been further tightened.
	The UK Government have repeatedly raised the issue of allowing enough humanitarian supplies and fuel into Gaza with the Israeli Government. We are also supporting organisations that provide direct medical treatment to the sick and injured such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). UNRWA has 18 health centres in Gaza and ICRC's medical teams were among the first to be allowed in during the conflict.

Palestinians: International Assistance

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he took the decision to write to the Director General of the BBC requesting that the BBC broadcast an advertisement for the Disasters Emergency Committee's Gaza Crisis appeal; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: I took the decision to write to heads of the BBC, Sky and ITV on 23 January 2009. I refer my hon. Friend to my statement to the House of 19 January 2009,  Official Report , column 20WS.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Israeli authorities to ensure continuous access for humanitarian relief into Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: As a priority, the UK Government continue to press the Israeli Government to allow full, unhindered and consistent access for humanitarian supplies into Gaza. The Under-Secretary of State for International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr. Foster) discussed this issue with Israeli Minister of Welfare and Social Services Isaac Herzog during his visit to the region on 19 January 2009. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have also consistently pressed UK concerns with Prime Minister Olmert and the Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni respectively.
	The UK welcomes the recent letter from the European Union to the Israeli Government expressing these concerns and calling for
	"all humanitarian items to be allowed automatic entry to the Gaza strip".

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Afghanistan

Adam Holloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which organisation has managed each project funded by his Department in Helmand province since 2005; what the budget of each was; how much has been spent in each case; what monitoring, impact assessments and evaluations have been undertaken; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Cabinet Office has not funded any projects in Helmand. I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to him by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development on 19 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 1097-98W and by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 4 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1202W.

Death: Asthma

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Guildford (Anne Milton) of 3 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1180W, on deaths: asthma; if he will set out the figures by  (a) age and  (b) sex; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated February 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2009, Official Report, column 1180W, on asthma-related deaths; to set out the figures broken down by (a) age and (b) sex. (255827)
	The attached table provides the number of deaths where asthma was mentioned on the death certificate, either as the underlying cause (table 1) or as a contributing factor (table 2), broken down by (a) age group and (b) sex from 2003 to 2007 (the latest year available).
	
		
			  Table 1: Deaths with an underlying cause of asthma( 1) , by age group and sex, England and Wales( 2) , 2003-2007( 3) 
			  Deaths 
			   Males  Females 
			  Age  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 <1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 01-04 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 1 2 1 
			 05-09 3 11 5 13 6 3 9 4 2 1 
			 10-14 10 11 6 7 5 4 6 6 7 4 
			 15-19 6 5 1 5 7 3 7 5 5 2 
			 20-24 4 12 7 5 5 6 11 8 2 4 
			 25-29 9 8 7 6 6 5 4 3 9 5 
			 30-34 6 9 12 4 8 12 11 2 4 11 
			 35-39 22 13 9 9 10 10 6 8 5 11 
			 40-44 11 18 18 14 9 22 27 15 17 17 
			 45-49 17 18 17 20 17 18 24 19 21 25 
			 50-54 26 18 26 11 22 32 22 21 22 19 
			 55-59 24 29 18 22 17 41 38 44 33 26 
			 60-64 36 37 24 24 15 48 31 37 32 33 
			 65-69 43 30 31 18 24 58 47 36 35 34 
			 70-74 38 45 26 21 18 76 57 60 46 40 
			 75-79 44 48 36 36 43 100 107 90 99 88 
			 80-84 44 63 48 34 43 146 152 149 124 91 
			 85+ 69 84 81 58 81 270 245 302 308 283 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes J45-J46. (2) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Deaths where asthma was mentioned as a contributory factor( 1,2) , by age group and sex, England and Wales( 3) , 2003-2007( 4) 
			  Deaths 
			   Males  Females 
			  Age  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 <1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 01-04 1 1 1 2 1 0 0 1 2 1 
			 05-09 3 12 7 13 6 3 9 4 3 1 
			 10-14 11 12 7 7 7 4 6 7 8 4 
			 15-19 9 8 2 9 8 6 8 8 6 2 
			 20-24 10 14 8 7 9 9 15 10 4 6 
			 25-29 12 13 10 10 8 9 6 4 10 10 
			 30-34 13 13 15 10 11 17 14 6 11 16 
			 35-39 23 24 17 15 20 15 13 11 13 20 
			 40-44 20 29 26 20 18 31 35 20 25 29 
			 45-49 27 37 28 37 26 34 39 33 33 41 
			 50-54 46 36 45 31 44 50 45 50 42 40 
			 55-59 55 60 43 53 35 81 66 80 80 57 
			 60-64 83 78 56 67 56 89 76 79 71 71 
			 65-69 95 99 70 94 74 124 127 111 108 93 
			 70-74 119 114 113 84 85 170 152 158 129 138 
			 75-79 132 137 125 127 146 271 240 209 220 232 
			 80-84 133 146 135 132 130 330 306 314 299 281 
			 85+ 145 168 173 185 182 482 511 584 602 594 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes J45-J46. (2 )Figures presented in table 2 include those where asthma was recorded as the underlying cause (table1) (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Departmental Consultants

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many expert advisers, excluding special advisers, have been commissioned by his Department since June 2007; and on which topics they have advised.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 13 January 2009,  Official Report, column 582W.

Employment

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people and what proportion of the workforce in employment in  (a) the UK and  (b) each Government Office region (i) aged 16 and over and (ii) of working age are (A) UK-born, (B) non-UK born, (C) EU-born, (D) non-EU born and (E) EU A8-born.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 10( th) February 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people and what proportion of the workforce in employment in (a) the UK and (b) each Government Office Region (i) aged 16 and over and (ii) of working age, who are (A) UK-born (B) non-UK born, (C) EU-born, (D) non-EU born and (E) EU A8 born. (256024)
	The requested information is shown in the attached tables. Table 1 attached provides employment levels and rates of people aged 16 and over, for the UK and each Government Office Region by country of birth. Table 2 attached provides employment levels and rates by working age for the UK and Government Office Region by country of birth. The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	The figures in the table are derived from the LFS microdata which are weighted using the official population estimates published in autumn 2007. Consequently the estimates are not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release, which are weighted using more up-to-date population estimates.
	
		
			  Table 1: Employment levels and employment rates of people aged 16 and over in each government office region, by country of birth July to September 2008, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousands and per cent 
			   UK  Non-UK( 1)  Non-UK EU  Non-EU  EUA8( 2) 
			   Level  Rate  Level  Rate  Level  Rate  Level  Rate  Level  Rate 
			 North East *1,102 56 ***58 56 ****(3)— 69 ****(3)— 48 ****(3)— 86 
			 North West (inc Merseyside) *2,927 58 **235 55 ***77 57 **158 54 ***39 78 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside *2,284 60 **195 56 ***77 71 ***118 50 ***46 88 
			 East Midlands *1,979 61 **204 61 ***80 69 ***125 57 ***42 82 
			 West Midlands *2,203 58 **260 51 ***69 56 **191 49 ***35 78 
			 Eastern *2,528 62 **295 64 ***125 66 **170 63 ***45 79 
			 London *2,307 63 *1,452 60 **403 67 *1,049 58 **141 75 
			 South East *3,725 63 **515 68 **168 67 **346 68 ***55 87 
			 South West *2,380 61 **201 66 ***77 66 ***124 65 ****(3)— 84 
			 Wales *1,272 56 ***70 59 ****(3)— 65 ***35 54 ****(3)— 81 
			 Scotland *2,364 61 **185 66 ***82 77 ***102 60 ***41 85 
			 Northern Ireland *729 57 ***59 68 ***35 67 ****(3)— 70 ****(3)— 91 
			 Total *25,799 60 *3,727 61 *1,254 66 *2,474 58 **516 81 
			 (1) Excludes those who did not state their country of birth. (2 )The A8 (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) (3) The estimates have been suppressed as they are deemed unreliable for practical purposes. Coefficients of Variation have been calculated as an indication of the quality of the estimates, as described below:  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV - for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220.  Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical robustness  * 0 = CV <5 Estimates are considered precise. ** 5 = CV <10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise. *** 10 = CV < 20 Estimates are considered acceptable. **** CV = 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes.  Note: It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc).  Source: Labour Force Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Employment levels and employment rates of the working age( 1)  population in each government office region, by country of birth July to September 2008, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousands and per cent 
			   UK  Non-UK( 2)  Non-UK EU  Non-EU  EUA8( 3) 
			   Level  Rate  Level  Rate  Level  Rate  Level  Rate  Level  Rate 
			 North East *1,063 71 ***58 62 ****(4)— 78 ****(4)— 53 ****(4)— 90 
			 North West (inc Merseyside) *2,806 73 **229 63 ***75 76 **154 59 ***39 83 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside *2,187 75 **192 64 ***76 83 ***116 56 ***46 90 
			 East Midlands *1,893 77 **201 71 ***78 83 ***123 65 ***42 86 
			 West Midlands *2,100 74 **255 61 ***66 77 **189 56 ***35 86 
			 Eastern *2,384 78 **286 74 ***122 80 **165 71 ***45 81 
			 London *2,209 73 *1,411 68 **393 78 *1,018 65 **140 78 
			 South East *3,516 80 **494 77 **160 81 **334 75 ***54 91 
			 South West *2,244 80 **195 77 ***75 80 ***120 76 ****(4)— 91 
			 Wales *1,207 71 ***68 68 ****(4)— 79 ***34 61 ****(4)— 82 
			 Scotland *2,266 77 **181 72 ***81 84 ***100 65 ***41 88 
			 Northern Ireland *706 69 ***58 79 ***35 80 ****(4)— 78 ****(4)— 91 
			 Total *24,580 76 *3,629 69 *1,221 80 *2,408 65 **513 84 
			 (1) Men aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59. (2) Excludes those who did not state their country of birth. (3)( )The A8 (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia). (4) The estimates have been suppressed as they are deemed unreliable for practical purposes.  Coefficients of Variation have been calculated as an indication of the quality of the estimates, as described below:  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV - for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical robustness  * 0 = CV <5 Estimates are considered precise. ** 5 = CV <10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise. *** 10 = CV < 20 Estimates are considered acceptable. **** CV = 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes.  Note: It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc).  Source: Labour Force Survey

Flood Control

Maria Miller: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps his Department has taken to determine which agency takes the lead role in responding to national flood emergencies since the publication of the Pitt Report on flooding.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I have been asked to reply.
	Planning for, and responding to, the challenges of a predicted or actual flooding event requires the combined and co-ordinated effort, experience and expertise of all levels of government, public authorities or agencies and a wide range of private and voluntary organisations. During a national flood emergency, DEFRA will be the lead Government Department in England. The Welsh Assembly Government, the Scottish Executive and the Northern Ireland Executive will take the lead role in their respective devolved Administrations. The National Flood Emergency Framework, currently out for consultation, will look at whether there is a need to further clarify roles and responsibilities.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Bingo: Government Assistance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will introduce measures to assist the bingo industry through regulation; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I signed The Gambling Act 2005 (Gaming Machines in Bingo Premises) Order 2009 on 3 February 2009 and this came into force on 4 February 2009. The Order increases the number of category B3 gaming machines that a bingo hall can offer from four to eight.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on official entertainment in each year since 1997-98.

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what expenditure his Department has incurred on hospitality in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on entertainment for its staff in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested by the hon. Members is not readily available from the Department's accounting system. To provide the information would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many bonuses were awarded to senior civil servants working at his Department and its agencies in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008; and how much was spent on such bonuses in each of those years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Non-consolidated performance payments to the SCS are based on the recommendations of the independent Senior Salaries Review Board. The total SCS pay bill for 2008 was £2,416,714 of which 8.6 per cent. was used for non- consolidated performance payments. The SCS pay bill for 2007 was £2,659,835 of which 7.6 per cent. was used for non-consolidated performance payments.
	The figures in the following table are the performance bonuses awarded to senior civil servants in each of the years requested. Figures include bonuses made by our agency, the Royal Parks.
	
		
			   Number of SCS performance bonuses awarded  Total amount of SCS performance bonuses awarded (£) 
			 2006-07 30 206,400 
			 2007-08 26 268,250

Departmental Plants

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1090W, on departmental plants, which organisations provided services to his Department related to the provision of  (a) plants and  (b) flowers.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following organisations provided services to the Department via its facilities management contractor MITIE Managed Services.
	
		
			  (a) Plants 
			   Organisation 
			 2006-07 Ambius 
			  Canon 
			 2007-08 Ambius 
			  Canon 
			 2008-09 Ambius(1) 
			  Canon 
			 (1) Contract terminated November 2008 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Flowers 
			   Organisation 
			 2006-07 Ambius 
			 2007-08 Ambius 
			 2008-09 Ambius(1) 
			  Canon(2) 
			 (1) Contract terminated November 2008 (2) Contract started December 2008

Departmental Training

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 10 November 2008,  Official Report, column 815W, on departmental training, what personal training courses at public expense other Ministers in his Department have undertaken since 1 January 2008.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 10 November 2008,  Official Report, column 815W.
	Other Ministers have taken the following courses at public expense since 1 January 2008: Action Learning Set.

Football Association

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on how many occasions in the last five years he and his predecessors have met the Football Association to discuss  (a) alleged irregularities in and  (b) unusual betting activity on football matches; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Ministers at the Department meet with the Football Association, as well as a wide variety of other sports bodies, on a regular basis to discuss a number of issues. In the last five years the general subject of integrity in sports betting has been discussed during those meetings, but the Secretary of State has not met the Football Association to specifically discuss irregularities in, or unusual betting activity on, football matches.
	The Government take any allegations relating to the integrity of sport seriously. The Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) introduced tough new penalties to ensure gambling is free from crime and corruption. In particular the Act established the offence of cheating at gambling where any person found guilty faces a maximum prison sentence of two years.

Legacy Trust UK

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Legacy Trust UK has awarded in grants since its establishment.

Andy Burnham: The Legacy Trust UK was established with a £40 million endowment from the Big Lottery Fund, the Arts Council England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to support a wide range of innovative cultural and sporting activities for all, which celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games and leave a lasting legacy in communities throughout the United Kingdom.
	Since LTUK was established, a total of £22,433,000 has been awarded in grants. This is split between UK school games, an annual sporting competition based on an Olympic games model with multiple sports events held across an intensive four-day period for elite school age athletes, and the UK regions and nations.

Licensed Premises

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many premises authorising the sale or supply of alcohol by means of a premises licence or a club premises certificate closed during each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department does not hold the information in the format requested, but can provide information on the number of premises licences which were surrendered, lapsed or suspended since April 2006. Some of these may relate to premises which are not authorised to sell or supply alcohol, because under the Licensing Act 2003, premises licences and club premises certificates are not confined to authorising the sale or supply of alcohol; they can also provide regulated entertainment and/or late night refreshment.
	Since the implementation of the Act, DCMS has been collecting alcohol, entertainment and late night refreshment statistics on an annual basis by financial year from licensing authorities. During the period April 2006 to March 2007, 2,630 premises licences were surrendered, 232 lapsed, and 70 were suspended, based on returns from around 76 per cent. of licensing authorities. For the same period, 210 club premises certificates were surrendered, two lapsed and 13 were withdrawn.
	The April 2007 to March 2008 bulletin reported 3,786 premises licences were surrendered, 423 lapsed, 18 were suspended by a court, and 44 were subject to a closure notice (based on returns from around 93 per cent. of licensing authorities). For the same period, 255 club premises licences were surrendered, seven lapsed and 13 were withdrawn.
	Prior to the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003, data on the number of alcohol licences revoked in England and Wales were collected by petty sessional division (magistrates court areas), on a triennial basis. Between July 2003 and June 2004, there was a total of 354 revocations of on and off-licences, 11 of which related to licensed clubs.

Olympic Games 2012: Transport

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he has taken or will be taking to ensure that hon. and right hon. Members will not be delayed in travelling to the House during the period of the London 2012 Olympic Games; and if he will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: I have been asked to reply 
	as Minister for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
	The Olympic Delivery Authority's transport planning is well under way and aims to minimise disruption immediately before and during the Games for all of London's visitors, residents and commuters, including Members of Parliament.
	The detailed planning now commencing will take this principle into account and will include detailed consideration of the central London area of Westminster and its environs.

Serco

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the value was of his Department's contracts held with Serco in each of the last five financial years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department has held no contracts with Serco in the last five years.

Sports Council Trust

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of the Sports Council Trust Company is owned by Sport England; and which other organisations have a share in the company.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England has advised that the Sports Council Trust Company is a company limited by guarantee and is a registered charity. As such it is not 'owned' and does not have any share capital. It has two members which are the English Sports Council (trading as Sport England) and Tim Marshall, whose membership is held in trust on behalf of the English Sports Council. Further information is available from Companies House. No other organisations are members or have shares in the company.

Sports: Schools

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many competition managers were in post in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what the average salary of a competition manager was in each of the last three years;
	(3)  how much has been spent on employing competition managers in each of the last five years;
	(4)  how many competition managers  (a) were appointed and  (b) left their posts in each of the last five years; and how many competition managers were employed in each region on the latest date for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Competition Manager programme was piloted in 2005, with 20 Competition Managers deployed in five county areas and working on a one to one ratio with 20 targeted school sport partnerships. There were no formal Competition Manager posts prior to 2005. The programme has expanded over the last four years and there are now 226 Competition Managers in post.
	Table 1 contains a breakdown of the number of Competition Managers who were funded by awards made by the Department of Children, Schools and Families for Competition Manager posts during the last four years as part of the National School Sport strategy. We do not have data available on Competition Managers who have left their posts.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Number of senior competition managers  14 23 49 
			 Number of competition managers 20 48 68 177 
			 Total 20 62 91 226 
		
	
	Table 2 contains current data on how many competition managers are employed in each Government region:
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  Region  Number of senior competition managers in post  Number of competition managers in post  Total 
			 East Midlands 5 16 21 
			 East of England 6 22 28 
			 London 5 22 27 
			 North East 4 10 14 
			 North West 5 26 31 
			 South East 7 26 33 
			 South West 7 16 23 
			 West Midlands 6 20 26 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 4 19 23 
			 Total 49 177 226 
		
	
	Table 3 contains data on the amount of funding awarded to hosts of Competition Managers for the roles of Senior Competition Managers and Competition Managers during the last four years of the programme.
	
		
			  Table 3 
			  £ 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Award funding issued for Competition Manager and Senior Competition Manager posts 750,000 1,597,750 2,960,500 8,340,183 
		
	
	We have been advised that it is not possible to provide the average salary of a competition manager as a number of these posts receive funding from other sources.

Sports: Schools

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding has been provided to UK School Games from  (a) the public purse and  (b) the National Lottery in each of the last three years; and what estimate he has made of the amounts to be so provided in each of the next three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Youth Sports Trust has advised that the following funding has been provided to the UK School Games:
	 (a) No funding was provided in 2006 or 2007 from the public purse. In 2008 a total of £2.8 million was provided from the public purse. £2.3 million came from the Legacy Trust and £500,000 from the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
	 (b) In 2006 the National Lottery provided £1.486 million in funding via the Millennium Commission and in 2007, £2.3 million through the Big Lottery. There was no funding given in 2008.
	For the next three years from 2009, funding will be provided as follows:
	 (a) The public purse will provide a total of £3.7 million from the Legacy Trust. There will be no further National Lottery funding during this period.

Sports: Schools

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost of staging each UK School Games has been since it was established.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Youth Sports Trust has advised that the cost of staging the UK school games since it was established has been £8,886,000 in total.
	For 2006 the cost was £2,036,000; for 2007, £3,150,000; and for 2008, £3,700,000. This includes the legacy support provided by non governmental bodies.

Music: Teachers

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications to the fund established to support the professional development of music teachers were received in each of the last three years; how many applicants were granted funding; and how many have subsequently completed programmes so funded.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I have been asked to reply.
	In the pilot programme from 2007 to 2008, 733 teachers had completed some modules and 304 of these had completed portfolios by the end of 2008. Under the programme from September 2008, 930 teachers have begun work.
	The aim of the Key Stage 2 Music continuing professional development programme is to establish a growing body of music practitioners who have considered at a deep level the issues surrounding teaching and learning in the context of whole class instrumental and vocal activity. Participants complete up to 14 modules through workshops and online learning, as well as benefiting from one-to-one mentoring. As with all professional development this is an ongoing process. The completion of a portfolio indicates a key milestone but does not indicate that a teacher's professional development is complete, or necessarily that the professional development of other teachers is somehow deficient. Teachers who have engaged with the programme have expressed high levels of satisfaction and even at this early stage we have every reason to believe that children's experience of music making is benefiting as a result. The first report on the effectiveness of the programme will be published in March.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Phil Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what his most recent estimate of the number of apprenticeship places in each local authority area is.

Si�n Simon: Since 1997 we have witnessed a renaissance in apprenticeships from a low point of 64,000 with only 27 per cent. completions to last year's record high of 225,000 with 64 per cent. completions, a remarkable achievement.
	Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship starts by age in 2007/08, broken down by local authority. A copy of this table has been provided and the relevant data will be placed in the Library.
	This information is also available on the Data Service website, and was released alongside the post-16 education statistical first release, which was published on 18 December 2008:
	www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics.
	
		
			  Apprenticeship starts by age in 2007/08 - programme starts, additional information by government office region and local authority 
			  Region  Local authority  LA code  Below 19  19+  Total 
			  North East Darlington 841 300 400 700 
			  Durham 840 1,500 1,600 3,100 
			  Gateshead 390 600 700 1,300 
			  Hartlepool 805 400 300 700 
			  Middlesbrough 806 500 400 1,000 
			  Newcastle Upon Tyne 391 700 700 1,400 
			  North Tyneside 392 600 600 1,200 
			  Northumberland 929 900 1,000 1,900 
			  Redcar and Cleveland 807 500 500 900 
			  South Tyneside 393 600 600 1,200 
			  Stockton-On-Tees 808 700 600 1,300 
			  Sunderland 394 1,000 900 1,900 
			   
			  North West Blackburn with Darwen 889 400 300 700 
			  Blackpool 890 300 600 1,000 
			  Bolton 350 900 700 1,600 
			  Bury 351 400 500 900 
			  Cheshire 875 1,400 1,700 3,100 
			  Cumbria 909 1,800 1,000 2,800 
			  Halton 876 300 400 700 
			  Knowsley 340 500 500 1,000 
			  Lancashire 888 3,100 2,600 5,800 
			  Liverpool 341 1,500 1,100 2,600 
			  Manchester 352 600 800 1,400 
			  Oldham 353 600 500 1,100 
			  Rochdale 354 500 500 1,000 
			  Salford 355 600 500 1,100 
			  Sefton 343 700 800 1,500 
			  St Helens 342 500 400 900 
			  Stockport 356 600 600 1,200 
			  Tameside 357 700 500 1,200 
			  Trafford 358 500 400 900 
			  Warrington 877 500 600 1,100 
			  Wigan 359 1,100 1,000 2,000 
			  Wirral 344 900 1,000 1,900 
			  Yorkshire and The Humber Barnsley 370 700 800 1,500 
			  Bradford 380 1,200 1,000 2,200 
			  Calderdale 381 600 500 1,000 
			  Doncaster 371 1,000 1,000 2,000 
			  East Riding of Yorkshire 811 1,400 2,300 3,800 
			  Kingston Upon Hull 810 1,000 600 1,600 
			  Kirklees 382 1,100 900 2,000 
			  Leeds 383 1,400 1,400 2,800 
			  North East Lincolnshire 812 400 400 800 
			  North Lincolnshire 813 500 400 1,000 
			  North Yorkshire 815 2,800 1,400 4,200 
			  Rotherham 372 700 700 1,400 
			  Sheffield 373 1,400 1,300 2,700 
			  Wakefield 384 800 700 1,500 
			  York 816 300 400 800 
			   
			  East Midlands Derby 831 800 700 1,400 
			  Derbyshire 830 2,000 1,800 3,900 
			  Leicester 856 500 600 1,100 
			  Leicestershire 855 1,400 1,400 2,800 
			  Lincolnshire 925 1,600 1,700 3,300 
			  Northamptonshire 928 1,600 1,800 3,400 
			  Nottingham 892 700 700 1,400 
			  Nottinghamshire 891 2,200 2,100 4,300 
			  Rutland 857  100 100 
			   
			  West Midlands Birmingham 330 1,600 1,800 3,400 
			  Coventry 331 600 800 1,400 
			  Dudley 332 800 700 1,500 
			  Herefordshire 884 500 500 1,000 
			  Sandwell 333 700 700 1,400 
			  Shropshire 893 800 1,000 1,800 
			  Solihull 334 400 300 700 
			  Staffordshire 860 1,900 2,600 4,500 
			  Stoke-On-Trent 861 700 1,300 1,900 
			  Telford and Wrekin 894 400 500 900 
			  Walsall 335 700 600 1,300 
			  Warwickshire 937 1,000 1,300 2,300 
			  Wolverhampton 336 600 600 1,200 
			  Worcestershire 885 900 1,200 2,100 
			   
			  East of England Bedfordshire 820 700 800 1,400 
			  Cambridgeshire 873 1,000 1,200 2,100 
			  Essex 881 2,400 2,600 5,000 
			  Hertfordshire 919 1,300 1,500 2,800 
			  Luton 821 300 300 600 
			  Norfolk 926 1,600 2,000 3,600 
			  Peterborough 874 300 400 700 
			  Southend on Sea 882 200 300 500 
			  Suffolk 935 1,800 1,900 3,700 
			  Thurrock 883 200 300 500 
			   
			  Inner London Camden 202 100 100 200 
			  City of London 201
			  Hackney 204 100 200 300 
			  Hammersmith and Fulham 205 100 100 200 
			  Haringey 309 100 200 300 
			  Islington 206 100 100 200 
			  Kensington and Chelsea 207  100 100 
			  Lambeth 208 100 300 400 
			  Lewisham 209 200 300 500 
			  Newham 316 200 400 600 
			  Southwark 210 100 300 400 
			  Tower Hamlets 211 200 300 500 
			  Wandsworth 212 100 200 300 
			  Westminster 213 100 200 300 
			   
			  Outer London Barking and Dagenham 301 300 300 500 
			  Barnet 302 100 300 400 
			  Bexley 303 500 300 800 
			  Brent 304 100 300 400 
			  Bromley 305 400 400 800 
			  Croydon 306 400 500 900 
			  Ealing 307 200 400 500 
			  Enfield 308 200 300 500 
			  Greenwich 203 300 300 500 
			  Harrow 310 200 200 300 
			  Havering 311 400 400 800 
			  Hillingdon 312 400 400 800 
			  Hounslow 313 200 400 600 
			  Kingston Upon Thames 314 100 200 300 
			  Merton 315 100 200 300 
			  Redbridge 317 200 300 500 
			  Richmond Upon Thames 318 100 100 200 
			  Sutton 319 300 300 600 
			  Waltham Forest 320 200 300 500 
			   
			  South East Bracknell Forest 867 200 200 400 
			  Brighton and Hove 846 300 400 700 
			  Buckinghamshire 825 800 800 1,600 
			  East Sussex 845 800 1,100 1,800 
			  Hampshire 850 3,000 3,900 6,800 
			  Isle Of Wight 921 300 600 900 
			  Kent 886 2,000 2,500 4,400 
			  Medway 887 500 700 1,200 
			  Milton Keynes 826 400 600 1,000 
			  Oxfordshire 931 1,000 1,100 2,000 
			  Portsmouth 851 200 400 600 
			  Reading 870 200 300 500 
			  Slough 871 200 300 400 
			  Southampton 852 400 500 800 
			  Surrey 936 1,200 1,900 3,100 
			  West Berkshire 869 300 400 700 
			  West Sussex 938 1,200 1,500 2,700 
			  Windsor and Maidenhead 868 200 200 400 
			  Wokingham 872 900 1,100 2,000 
			   
			  South West Bath and North East Somerset 800 300 200 500 
			  Bournemouth 837 300 400 700 
			  Bristol 801 700 700 1,400 
			  Cornwall (Includes Isles of Scilly) 908 1,200 2,000 3,100 
			  Devon 878 1,800 1,800 3,600 
			  Dorset 835 1,500 1,900 3,400 
			  Gloucestershire 916 1,000 1,200 2,200 
			  North Somerset 802 400 400 900 
			  Plymouth 879 700 700 1,400 
			  Poole 836 300 300 600 
			  Somerset 933 1,300 1,100 2,400 
			  South Gloucestershire 803 600 500 1,100 
			  Swindon 866 300 500 800 
			  Torbay 880 300 500 700 
			  Wiltshire 865 900 1,500 2,500 
			   
			 England Total   106,100 115,400 221,600 
			   
			 Other   1,500 1,800 3,200 
			   
			 Grand Total   107,600 117,200 224,800 
			  Notes: 1. Volumes are rounded to the nearest hundred. 2. These figures include WBL (apprenticeships only).  3. The following data sources have been used; WBL 2007/08. 4. This table uses programme starts as a measure for comparative purposes. Full-year numbers are a count of the number of starts at any point during the year. Learners starting more than one course will appear more than once. 5. Programme-Led Apprenticeships recorded in WBL ILR returns are included in the above figures. 6. Government Office Region and Local Authority are based upon the home postcode of the learner. Where the postcode is outside of England, learners are included in the 'Other' category. Where postcode is not known this is also included in the 'Other' category. 7. '' indicates a base value of less than 50.

Apprentices

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what plans he has to ensure that apprentices who become unemployed are able to complete their apprenticeships in alternative employment.

Si�n Simon: We have established a matching service to help those apprentices in the construction sector at risk of redundancy to find alternative employment and to complete their apprenticeship. We are currently working with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to explore how this approach might be extended to other sectors. More generally, providers and the LSC have procedures to advise and relocate apprentices in cases where providers or employers fail, to help ensure that they are able to continue in work and complete their apprenticeship. Such arrangements are being used to help former Woolworth apprentices complete their apprenticeship framework and find alternative employment or training.
	The 140 million package announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister last month for an additional 35,000 apprenticeship places will help fund new provision in both the public sector and private sector, and will extend the opportunities available to people facing redundancy. This package will further boost the number of people starting an apprenticeship which has increased from 65,000 in 1996-97 to 225,000 last year.
	On 12 January 2009 the new online National Apprenticeship Vacancy Matching Service went live. The first chief executive of the new National Apprenticeship Service took up post this week and our National Apprenticeship Service will be fully functional from 1 April 2009 with a remit to expand apprenticeships and provide a single point of contact for employers and apprentices. To raise awareness and encourage more employers to take on or offer more apprenticeships a new national advertising campaign started on 2 February, fronted by Sir Alan Sugar.
	Our New Opportunities White Paper published 13 January 2009 announced the Government's commitment to extending group training associations; ensuring all apprentices have clear progression routes; and commitment to work towards an entitlement to an apprenticeship for all young people leaving care. Looking to the future, we have set ambitious targets for the growth of the apprenticeships programme. Apprenticeships provisions will be taken forward as part of forthcoming legislation, including provisions to ensure that an apprenticeship place is available for all suitably qualified young people by 2013.

Apprentices

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people began an adult apprenticeship in the last academic year; and how many such people were in employment when their apprenticeships began.

Si�n Simon: holding answer 3 February 2009
	Table 1 shows the number of adult apprenticeship starts in 2007-08, by age.
	Information about apprentices' employment status at the start of their apprenticeship is not available. Total starts figures are provided. Framework completions (all ages) have increased from 39,000 in 2001-02 to 111,800 in 2006-07 and 112,600 in 2007-08.
	
		
			  Table 1: Adult apprenticeship starts by age in 2007-08 
			  Apprenticeship starts  2007-08 
			 19-24 90,100 
			 25 + 27,200 
			 All adult apprenticeship starts 117,300 
			   
			 All apprenticeship starts 224,800 
			  Notes: 1. Age is based on age at start of course. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.  Source:  WBL ILR

Apprentices: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department is taking in West Chelmsford constituency to increase the number of apprenticeships.

Si�n Simon: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) on 27 January 2009,  Official Report, column 448W. We are taking a wide range of steps to encourage more people to take up apprenticeships and to encourage more employers to offer high quality places both in West Chelmsford and across the rest of England. On the 4 February we introduced our Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill, including provisions to an entitlement to an apprenticeship place for all suitably qualified young people from 2013.
	The Government are committed to apprenticeships and since 1997 we have witnessed a renaissance in apprenticeships from a low point of 64,000 with only 27 per cent. completions to last year's record high of 225,000 with 64 per cent. completions, a remarkable achievement.

Apprentices: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many new apprenticeships have been created in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland constituency in each of the last five years.

Si�n Simon: This Government are committed to apprenticeships. Since 1997 we have witnessed a renaissance in apprenticeships from a low point of 64,000 with only 27 per cent completions to last year's record high of 225,000 with 64 per cent. completions, a remarkable achievement.
	Tables 1 shows the number of apprenticeship starts in Cumbria local authority, Copeland constituency and the total for England. Figures are presented from 2003-04 to 2007-08, the latest year for which fully audited data is available.
	
		
			  Table 1 :  Apprenticeship starts in Cumbria local authority and Copeland constituency, 2003-04  to  2007-08 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Cumbria local authority 2,600 2,800 2,300 2,700 2,800 
			 Copeland constituency 410 430 320 420 440 
			  Notes:  1. Volumes for Cumbria are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Volumes for Copeland constituency are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Percentages are based on unrounded figures. 4. These figures include WBL (apprenticeships only). 5. This table uses programme starts/completions as a measure for comparative purposes. Full-year numbers are a count of the number of starts/completions at any point during the year. Learners starting/completing more than one course will appear more than once. 6. Local authority and constituency are based on home postcode of the learner.  Source:  WBL ILR

Apprentices: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much funding has been provided by his Department to support apprenticeship schemes in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland constituency in each of the last five years.

Si�n Simon: Information on apprenticeships funding in Cumbria is provided in the following table. This funding relates to providers contracted in the LSC Cumbria area and is not available at constituency level.
	Since 1997 we have witnessed a renaissance in apprenticeships from a low point of 64,000 with only 27 per cent. completions to last year's record high of 225,000 with 64 per cent. completions, a remarkable achievement. We will build on this with funding for apprenticeships in England planning to be increased to over 1 billion in 2009-10. Last month my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced a 140 million package to provide 35,000 extra apprenticeship places in the coming year.
	
		
			  LSC Cumbria apprenticeships funding allocation 
			   Apprenticeships funding allocation ( million) 
			 2004/05 9.0 
			 2005/06 9.2 
			 2006/07 9.0 
			 2007/08 10.4 
			 2008/09 (provisional) 15.5 
			  Source: Learning and Skills Council.

Apprentices: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people were undertaking apprenticeships in Leeds West constituency in each year since 2005.

Si�n Simon: Since 1997 we have witnessed a renaissance in apprenticeships from a low point of 64,000 with only 27 per cent. completions to last year's record high of 225,000 with 64 per cent. completions, a remarkable achievement.
	Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship starts in the parliamentary constituency of Leeds West, in each academic year from 2005-06 to 2007-08.
	
		
			  Table 1: Apprenticeship Starts in 2005-06 to 2007-08 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Leeds West constituency 290 360 410 
			 All apprenticeships 175,000 184,400 224,800 
			  Notes: 1. Parliamentary Constituency is based on learner's home postcode. 2. Numbers for Leeds West have been rounded to the nearest ten. 3. Numbers for England have been rounded to the nearest hundred.  Source:  WBL ILR

Chelmsford Prison: Education

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what percentage of  (a) prisoners and  (b) young offenders in HM Prison Chelmsford he estimates have literacy problems.

Si�n Simon: The Department does not routinely make estimates of the percentage of offenders, by establishment, with literacy problems. The first report from the Ministry of Justice's Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction study (The problems and needs of newly sentenced prisoners: results from a national survey, October 2008) showed that 48 per cent. of young offenders starting a new prison sentence and 46 per cent. of adult offenders starting a new prison sentence had no academic or vocational qualifications.
	The principle of screening all offenders, with a full assessment of those who take up learning, lies at the heart of offender learning and skills delivery. Following the October 2008 Public Accounts Committee report, we are working closely with the Ministry of Justice to strengthen the screening and assessment process. Later this year, the Learning and Skills Council will introduce a new screening tool, developed in consultation with Dyslexia Action, to screen for a range of learning difficulties.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many staff in his Department have been disciplined for  (a) bullying and  (b) harassment of colleagues since its inception.

Si�n Simon: There have been no recorded cases of bullying or harassment of employees in the Department or the former Department for Education and Skills which resulted in staff being disciplined.

Departmental Foreign Workers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many  (a) EU foreign nationals and  (b) non-EU foreign nationals are employed by his Department.

Si�n Simon: The information could be obtained only in the form requested at disproportionate cost as once individuals are appointed to the Department, having cleared nationality, passport, proof of identity, reference and criminal records bureau checks, our human resource information systems do not distinguish between EU or non-EU nationality.

Departmental Pensions

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department is taking to advise staff of pension options available to them in relation to added years or additional voluntary contributions.

Si�n Simon: Members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme receive an annual benefit statement showing the pension built up to date, and also a projection of their pension on retirement if they continue in service to scheme pension age. The benefit statement prompts the member to consider boosting their pension and provides details of the civil service pensions website (www.civilservice-pensions.gov.uk) where staff can obtain further information, including options for making additional voluntary contributions and a calculator to work out costs for added pension (previously added years).
	New entrants are informed of pension options in the employment offer and are provided with a pension information pack.
	The Cabinet Office provides leaflets that explain added pension and additional voluntary contributions for members. The information is also available in scheme booklets. These are available on the civil service pensions website or on request from the member's pensions administrator.
	In the Department, the human resources intranet site which is being developed will include detailed information on the pension options available to staff. The new site is due to be launched in April. In the interim, staff are signposted to DIUS's pension administrator and the civil service pensions website for information.

Departmental Public Appointments

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which of the public appointments for which his Department is responsible are due to be  (a) renewed and  (b) filled in the next 24 months; what the (i) remit, (ii) salary, (iii) political restriction, (iv) eligibility requirement and (v) timetable for each appointment is; and what records his Department keeps in respect of such appointments.

Si�n Simon: Information on appointments made by my Department is published on the Department's website. More detailed information about individual appointments is set out in the relevant body's Annual Report. Vacancies may be advertised on the Cabinet Office Public Appointments website at:
	www.publicappointments.gov.uk
	The process for making a public appointment, including guidance on political activity and eligibility criteria, follows the Cabinet Office publication Making and Managing Public Appointments. For appointments regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, the appointments process also complies with the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies. Copies are in both Libraries.

Departmental Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2009,  Official Report, column 952W, on redundancy, what estimate has he made of the annual payroll savings resulting from staff exit schemes in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07,  (c) 2007-08 and  (d) 2008-09 excluding the cost of severance packages; and what estimate he has made of the equivalent figures for 2009-10.

Si�n Simon: The information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Educational Institutions: Construction

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which colleges submitted applications in respect of the Building Colleges for the Future programme for approval in  (a) principle and  (b) detail at the December meeting of the Learning and Skills Council; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: The total capital expenditure in further education colleges in England in the financial year 1997-98 was nil.
	In total since that time, this Government have invested 2.4 billion and will be investing a record further 2.3 billion across the next three years.
	Capital funding for further education colleges is administered by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and I have asked Mark Haysom, the LSC chief executive, to write to the hon. Gentleman with the further information requested. A copy of his letter will be placed in the House Library.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many staff at the Learning and Skills Council are employed in administering education maintenance allowance payments.

Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
	This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Mark Haysom the LSC's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for Cotswold with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in both Libraries.

Engineering: Higher Education

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what his policy is on funding for postgraduate courses in nuclear engineering.

David Lammy: It is the role of the Research Councils to make decisions on the funding of postgraduate courses. The Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) is the main UK Government Agency for funding research and training in nuclear engineering. The EPSRC has invested 1 million and industry partners 1.6 million to the Nuclear Technology Education Consortium, involving 11 institutions, to provide masters level training for the nuclear industries. The EPSRC also funds the 7.1 million Postgraduate Nuclear Research/Nuclear Engineering Doctorate programme in Nuclear Engineering, based at the university of Manchester. Successful candidates receive a standard EPSRC doctoral stipend enhanced by a contribution from a sponsoring company. We are currently looking at the supply and demand for postgraduate courses in nuclear engineering in the years to come.

Higher Education: Admissions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many  (a) applicants and  (b) successful applicants of each sex and socio-economic group there were to study (i) medicine, (ii) engineering, (iii) physics, (iv) chemistry, (v) veterinary medicine, (vi) accountancy, (vii) dentistry and (viii) economics at university in each year since 2002.

David Lammy: The information has been placed in both Libraries.
	For the academic years recorded in the tables, for those aged up to 20, UCAS recorded socio-economic class based on the applicant's parent's occupation; for those aged 21 and over, the applicant's socio-economic class was based on their own occupation. UCAS has released figures for 2008/09, but because of changes it has made to their application form, it is only possible to compare the social backgrounds of 18-year-olds and under. This is why socio-economic class data for 2008-09 are listed in a separate table.
	The 2008-09 data are also not directly comparable with previous years due to the fact that they also contain applicants and accepted applications to nursing and midwifery (NMas) courses.
	Some time series data may also be affected by changes in the maximum number of courses which could be applied for. In 2008/09 a maximum of five applications could be made per applicant, whereas in the years prior to this up to six applications could be made by each applicant.

Higher Education: Nuclear Physics

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he is taking to increase the number of nuclear engineering graduates.

David Lammy: The Government have designated all engineering degrees as strategically important and vulnerable subjects. These subjects benefit from a 350 million programme of support administered by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to stimulate demand and secure supply. Additionally, there is a 140 million strategy over 2008 to 2011 to support the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) agenda. We are currently keeping the supply and demand for undergraduate nuclear engineering courses under review.

Perfect Gift Scheme

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what evaluation has been made of the Perfect Gift scheme; and if he will place a copy of the evaluation report in the Library.

Si�n Simon: The Perfect Gift scheme was launched as a pilot project in October 2007 in nine further education colleges across England (one college per Learning and Skills Council region). Following the launch, individual colleges were responsible for ongoing promotion and communication. Initial evaluation with participating colleges showed that despite encouraging media coverage at launch, the take-up of vouchers during the pilot was lower than anticipated. The low take-up determined that the pilot would not be developed further. As a result, the production of a formal evaluation document was not deemed necessary.

Research and Science

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with  (a) the Secretary of State for Wales and  (b) the Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Education on the results of the recent Universities Research Assessment Exercise; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had on UK science policy with  (a) Scottish Executive Ministers,  (b) Welsh Assembly Government Ministers and  (c) Northern Ireland Executive Ministers; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what recent discussions he has had on UK science policy with the Secretary of State for  (a) Northern Ireland,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Wales; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills has regular meetings with his counterparts in the devolved administrations and relevant Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues including research and science policy, as do his ministerial team and senior officials. Last week the Secretary of State met Jane Hutt the Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills on a visit to the university of Cardiff.

Students: Debts

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the average amount of debt of  (a) full-time undergraduate,  (b) part-time undergraduate and  (c) postgraduate students was on leaving university in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: The personal debt of students is a reflection of their overall financial position when they leave university. It takes into account student loan and commercial borrowing less their savings.
	The most recent assessment made of the personal debt of students on graduation for English domiciled full-time and part-time undergraduate students was the 2004/05 Student Income and Expenditure Survey (SIES). The survey found that full-time undergraduates left university with average personal debt of 7,918, and part-time students graduated in credit by 347 on average.
	A consistent time series for these estimates is not available because earlier surveys were based on samples with differing characteristics. For example, in 1998/99, average personal debt on graduation was estimated to be 3,462 for UK full-time undergraduates; and in 2002/03, 8,666 for English and Welsh full-time undergraduates under 25 years old.
	The 2007/08 SIES is expected in the spring, and this will provide an assessment of the financial position of students who left university in 2008.

Students: Loans

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many student loans have been made by the Student Loans Company in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: The information requested is as follows.
	
		
			  Maintenance loans taken out ,  England( 1) 
			  Academic year  Loans taken out( 2) 
			 2003/04 682,000 
			 2004/05 693,100 
			 2005/06 719,100 
			 2006/07 728,100 
			 2007/08 (provisional) 746,200 
			 (1) The table covers English domiciled students studying in the UK. (2) Figures rounded to nearest 100.  Source: Student Loans Company 
		
	
	
		
			  Tuition fee loans taken out ,  England( 1) 
			  Academic year  Loans taken out( 2) 
			 2006/07 397,300 
			 2007/08 (provisional) 553,500 
			 (1) The table covers English domiciled students studying in the UK and EU students studying in England. (2) Figures rounded to nearest 100.  Source: Student Loans Company 
		
	
	Tuition Fee Loans were introduced in 2006/07. They are available to both current system students and pre-2006/07 entrants who make a contribution to their fees.

Train to Gain Programme

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much was spent on Train to Gain brokers in 2007-08; and what percentage of Train to Gain expenditure in that year this figure represents.

Si�n Simon: holding answer 5 February 2009
	Train to Gain total spend for 2007-08 financial year was 312,959,000 of which 38,630,000 was spent on brokerage. This represents 12.3 per cent. of the overall spend.
	Train to Gain is the key service for supporting employers to invest in the future productivity and profitability of their businesses by investing in the skills of their employees. Train to Gain offers quality-assured, impartial advice from skills brokers, to help business, identify the skills needs at all levels and make the right, informed choices.
	Since Train to Gain was rolled out nationally in August 2006, it has engaged over 101,000 employers and supported over 570,000 learners to begin learning, of whom over 290,000 have achieved a qualification.
	Train to Gain total spend for 2007-08 financial year was 312,959,000 of which 38,630,000 was spent on brokerage. This represents 12.3 per cent. of the overall spend.

Vocational Guidance

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much has been spent on the provision of careers advice to  (a) young people and  (b) adults by agencies for which his Department is responsible in each year since 1997.

Si�n Simon: Information on the total amount spent on careers advice is not collected. Young people and adults receive careers advice from a range of sources including from learning providers, Connexions services, nextstep and the Careers Advice Service. Funding for learning providers does not include a sum ring-fenced for careers advice.
	 (a) Connexions services advise young people on a range of issues including careers. Prior to 2001, careers services provided advice and guidance on careers and related issues. Funding has been provided to Connexions/careers services as set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Funding 
			 1997-98 192 million to careers services 
			   
			 1998-99 210 million to careers services 
			   
			 1999-2000 223 million to careers services 
			   
			 2000-01 233 million to careers services 
			   
			 2001-02 110 million to Connexions 
			  173 million to careers services 
			   
			 2002-03 337 million to Connexions 
			  52 million to careers services 
			   
			 2003-04 439 million to Connexions 
			   
			 2004-05 458 million to Connexions 
			   
			 2005-06 464 million to Connexions 
			   
			 2006-07 466 million to Connexions 
			   
			 2007-08 467 million to Connexions 
			   
			 2008-09 469 million to Connexions 
		
	
	 (b) Prior to 1999, the delivery of careers advice to adults was largely delivered by local initiatives and no information was collected on funding for careers advice within these. The information and advice for adults programme began in April 1999. Responsibility for planning and funding the adult information and advice service transferred to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in April 2001. Funding allocated for the adult information and advice service includes delivery of the local face to face service through nextstep, Careers Advice Service (formally learndirect careers advice), development projects and quality assurance arrangements.
	
		
			   Funding 
			 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001-02 54 million across the three years 
			 2002-03 54 million 
			 2003-04 58 million 
			 2004-05 58 million 
			 2005-06 63 million 
			 2006-07 63 million 
			 2007-08 63 million 
			 2008-09 72 million

Vocational Training

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what percentage of Learning and Skills Council-funded work-based learning provision has been allocated to non-UK nationals in the academic years  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09.

Si�n Simon: The following table shows the number of Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funded work-based learners in 2007/08, split by whether the learner is UK or non-UK domiciled. 2007/08 is the latest year for which we have fully-audited information.
	To be eligible for LSC funding an individual needs to satisfy the residency criteria set out in LSC Learner Eligibility Guidance. In general, this means that they need to have been lawfully living in the UK, European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) for the three years prior to the start of their course. There may also be additional criteria directly linked to the type of work based programme they are undertaking such as the need to be in employment.
	Less than 1 per cent. of LSC-funded learners studying work-based learning were non-UK domiciled in 2007/08. Non-UK domiciled learners will include those from both the EU and EEA.
	
		
			  LSC-funded work-based learning in 2007/08, by whether the learner is UK or non-UK domiciled 
			   Number 
			 UK domiciled learners 495,000 
			 Non-UK domiciled learners 500 
			 Not known 200 
			  Notes: 1. Volumes are rounded to the nearest hundred. 2. This information is based on country of domicileinstitutions are advised that the country of domicile field should be treated as a self-assessment field and reflect the country where the learner was ordinarily resident for the three years preceding the start of their programme. 3. These figures include apprenticeships and entry to employment. 4. This table uses learner volumes as a measure for comparative purposes. Full-year numbers are a count of the number of learners that participated at any point during the year.  Source: WBL ILR

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

SERCO

Robert Flello: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the value was of his Department's contracts held with SERCO in each year since his Department was established.

Patrick McFadden: Central records indicate that the value of contracts held with SERCO in each year since the Department was established is as follows:
	
		
			   
			  2007-08  
			 Cornwell Management Consultants plc/ T/A SERCO consulting 128,868.10 
			 SERCO Ltd. 6,577,744.02 
			 Grand Total 6,706,612.12 
			  2008-09  
			 SERCO Ltd. 655,478.99 
			 Grand Total 655,478.99

JUSTICE

Approved Premises: Merton

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has to establish bail hostels in  (a) Wimbledon constituency and  (b) the London Borough of Merton.

David Hanson: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to him of 6 October 2008,  Official  Report, columns 151-152W.
	No bail hostels are being established in the constituency of Wimbledon. The Bail Accommodation and Support Service provides private, rented accommodation in small houses and flats with up to five people sharing, not hostels. The Director of Offender Management for London has identified a need for one three-bedroom property in Merton and ClearSprings are seeking an appropriate property. When properties are identified ClearSprings consult the police, probation and local authority before proceeding. In Merton they have consulted in relation to a property that was considered but not proceeded with and have held meetings with council officials and councillors. It is my practice to write to the relevant Member of Parliament when first a property is being readied for use in his/her constituency. At 26 January 2009 ClearSprings were providing 176 properties in England and Wales.

Cannabis: Penalty Notices

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to issue guidance to police forces under section 6 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 on issuing penalty notices for disorder for cannabis possession.

Maria Eagle: Secretary of State guidance to forces on the issue of penalty notices for disorder for cannabis possession will be issued shortly. Additionally, the Association of Chief Police Officers has issued guidance on the escalation process of enforcement under which a penalty notice for disorder may be issued for a second possession offence.

Compensation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many claims for compensation under the Human Rights Act 1998 have been brought against his Department  (a) in total and  (b) by prisoners since 2000.

David Hanson: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at significant disproportionate cost requiring individual examination of thousands of files.

Compensation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has paid out in compensation in respect of claims made under the Human Rights Act 1998 since 2000.

Michael Wills: The information requested is not held centrally. Given that issues relating to the Human Rights Act may be raised in any proceedings in any court or tribunal, the information could be obtained only by a member of staff manually sifting through all files held in respect of proceedings brought against the Department (or its predecessors) during the last nine years, to identify whether any compensation paid was in respect of a claim involving the Human Rights Act. The cost of doing so would be disproportionate.

Coroners

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of inquests held into potential finds of treasure have been held within three months of the case being referred to the coroner in each year since the Treasure Act 1996 came into force; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the average length of time was between  (a) the referral of a case regarding potential treasure finds to a coroner and the commencement of the inquest,  (b) the referral of a case regarding potential treasure finds to a coroner and the completion of the inquest and  (c) the commencement of an inquest regarding potential treasure and the completion of the inquest was in each year since the Treasure Act 1996 came into force; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The Ministry of Justice collects statistics on the number of finds under the Treasure Act 1996 reported to coroners in England and Wales during each calendar year, the number of treasure inquests concluded during the year and, of these, the number of verdicts of treasure returned. Information is not collected on the time taken to conduct treasure inquests.

Coroners

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate his Department has made of the annual running cost of an office of a Coroner for Treasure; what proportion of such costs he expects to be incurred in relation to main funds; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: We estimate that the total annual running cost of implementing an office of a coroner for treasure would be 324,000.
	There is no provision in the Coroners and Justice Bill for a Coroner for Treasure.

Courts: Welsh Language

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much courts in Wales spent on  (a) translation and  (b) interpretation between English and Welsh in each year since 2000.

Bridget Prentice: The information requested for translation costs is contained in the following table.
	 Translation between English and Welsh
	These costs relate to the translation of the written word and include the cost of an internal translator's post.
	
		
			  English/Welsh translation costs incurred in courts in Wales 
			   
			   Translation cost  Salary of Translator 
			 2002-03 37,051 24,000 
			 2003-04 32,125 24,000 
			 2004-05 46,002 25,000 
			 2005-06 89,000 23,000 
			 2006-07 87,051 11,000 
			 2007-08 112,000 26,360 
		
	
	Records do not go back further than 2002. Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) came into existence in April 2005. The costs for the years preceding this date have been collated from pre-HMCS records and therefore exclude the translation cost incurred in Welsh magistrates courts committees.
	 Interpretation between English and Welsh
	HMCS would only be able to identify spend on interpreters at a disproportionate cost as expenditure records are not kept at this level of detail.

Departmental Lobbying

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether Ministers in his Department received representations from  (a) Lord Moonie,  (b) Lord Taylor of Blackburn,  (c) Lord Snape and  (d) Lord Truscott in the last seven months.

Bridget Prentice: Ministers in the Ministry of Justice have not received any representations from these four peers in the last seven months.

Departmental Manpower

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to his Department's procurement success review 
	(1)  how many roles within his Department will not be available via the redeployment pool;
	(2)  how long employees of his Department will have in which to make decisions on their re-employment under the procurement success review proposals;
	(3)  whether the new Director's post will be advertised under the job matching process;
	(4)  who the members of the job matching panel will be; and what powers the panel will have;
	(5)  whether senior managers who are required to take jobs at a lower grade level as a result of reclassification will be entitled to maintain their current level of pay; and what information has been supplied to such managers on the matter;
	(6)  what information has been given to employees on the appeals procedure relating to the reclassification of grades;
	(7)  whether public interest transfer terms will apply in circumstances where a post is relocated as part of the review.

Shahid Malik: The availability of roles through the redeployment pool will not be known until the job matching process is complete. Posts not filled via job matching will be available to surplus procurement staff first.
	Job descriptions for the new organisation were issued on 13 January 2009. Organisation charts and information about the matching process had previously been issued (on 9 January). Staff have until 4 February to submit their job matching forms.
	The Director of Procurement post will be subject to the normal selection process for senior civil service posts.
	The job matching panel will consist of two senior managers within procurement and a representative from human resources from within the National Offender Management Service or central Ministry of Justice Human Resources. There will also be a member of staff from the Ministry of Justice part of procurement who will work with the panel members to verify the process. Senior managers will be called on as appropriate where additional information is required for specialist roles. The panel will identify staff who match roles in the new organisation.
	Should senior managers be required to fill posts at a lower level, they will have protection, in line with current policies, in respect of their pay at the higher level. Staff have been advised of this both in writing and verbally.
	Where this has been asked staff have been advised that this should be raised through line management. It will then be handled in line with departmental human resources policy.
	Public interest transfer terms will apply where jobs are relocated and staff need to move. Affordability will also be taken into account in making decisions about relocating staff. This has been advised to staff.

Economic Situation

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions his Department has had with outside organisations to discuss policy on reducing the effect of the recession on matters within his Department's responsibility.

Maria Eagle: Ministers and officials within the Ministry of Justice have regular engagements with a range of organisations, including relevant Government Departments, on a number of issues relating to the economy.

Magistrates Courts: Powers

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish the redacted paragraphs of the Magistrates' Court Guidance - Search and Entry Powers (Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004).

Bridget Prentice: I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 27 January 2009,  Official Report, column 372W.
	The Information Commissioner agreed with the proposed redactions when the guidance was first released under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on 9 December 2008 and the Government have no plans to release the redacted parts.

Offences against Children

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions in cases of sexual offences against children under the age of 18 there were in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: The number of defendants found guilty at all courts in England and Wales of sexual offences against children under the age of 18 in England and Wales for the years 2005 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in the following table.
	Data provided are for those statutes where the age of the victim is specified.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	
		
			  The number of persons found guilty of sexual offences against children under the age of 18 years in England and Wales, 2005 to 2007( 1, 2, 3) 
			   2005  2006  2007 
			 Found guilty 1,351 1,764 1,866 
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The following sections of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 have been used for this table: 1, 5, 6, 7, 8(1)  (2), 8(1)  (3), 9(1)(a)(b)(c )(i)  (2), 9(1)(a)(b)(c )(ii)  (2), 9(1)(a)(b)(c )(ii)  (2)  (13), 9(a)(b)(c)(ii)  (3), 9(1)(a)(b)(c )(ii)  9(2)  (13), 9(a)(b)(c)(i)(3)  13, 9(a)(b)(c)(ii)(3)  13, 10(1)(a)(b)(c)(i)  (3), 10(1)(a)(b)(c)(ii)  (3) 10(1)(a)(b)(c)(i)  13, 10(1)(a)(b)(c)(ii)  13, 10(1)(a),(b),(c )(i) (2)  (13), 10(1)(a),(b),(c )(ii) (2)  (13), 11(1)(a)(b)(c )(d)(ii)  (13), 12(1)(a)(b)(c )(i)  (2), 12(1)(a)(b)(c )(ii)  (2), 12(1)(a)(b)(c )(i)  (13), 12(1)(a)(b)(c )(ii)  (13), 14, 15, 16(1)(a)-(c )(e)(i)(5), 16(1)(a)-(c )(e)(ii)(5), 16(1)(a)-(d)(e) (i)  (2) to (5), 16(1)(a)-(d)(e) (ii)  (2) to (5), 17(1)(a)-(d)(e) (ii) 2  (5), 17(1)(a)-(c )(e)(i)(5), 17(1)(a)-(c )(e)(ii)(5), 18(1)(a)-(e)(f)(ii)  (2) to (5), 18(1)(a)-(e)(f)(i)  (2) to (5), 18(l)(a)-(d)(f)(i)(5), 18(1)(a)-(d)(f)(ii)(5), 19(1)(a)-(c), (e)(i)  (5),19(1)(a)-(c) (e)(ii)  (5), 25(1)(a)-(d) (e)(i)  (5), 25(1)(a)-(d) (e) (ii)  (5), 25(1)(a)-(d)(e) (ii) (4)(a)  (6), 26(1)(a)-(d)(e)(i)(4)(a)  (6), 25(1)(a)-(d)(e)(i)  (4)(b), 25(1)(a)-(d)(e) (ii)  (4)(b), 26(1)(a)-(d)(e)(i)  (4)(b), 26(1)(a)-(d)(e)(ii)  (4)(b), 26(1)(a)-(d)(e)(ii)  (5), 47(1)(a)(b)(c)(i)  (4)(b), 47(1)(a)(b)(c)(ii)  (4)(b), 47(1)(a)(b)(c)(ii)(3)  (6), 47(1)(a)(b)(c)(i)(4)(a)  (6), 47(1)(a)(b)(c)(i)  (5)148(1)(a)(b)(i)  (2), 48(1)(a)(b)(ii)  (2), 50(1a)(b)(i)  (2), 50(1a) (b)(ii)  (2), 71  Source: Office for Criminal Justice ReformEvidence and Analysis Unit Our ref: PQ 253853 (Table)

Offenders: Drugs

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) males and  (b) females aged (i) under 17, (ii) between 17 and 21, (iii) between 21 and 25, (iv) between 25 and 29 years of age and (v) over 30 years of age and older were convicted of drug offences in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Eagle: Information showing the number of males and females found guilty at all courts for drug offences in England and Wales broken down by age is given in the following table.
	The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	
		
			  Number of persons found guilty at all courts for drug offences, England and Wales, 1998 to 2007, broken down by age and sex( 1, 2, 3) 
			  Age  Sex  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004( 4)  2005  2006  2007 
			  Male 1,137 1,395 1,748 2,176 2,455 2,630 2,420 2,513 2,431 2,842 
			  Female 75 92 118 133 155 168 162 186 147 177 
			 10 to 16 Total 1,212 1,487 1,866 2,309 2,610 2,798 2,582 2,699 2,578 3,019 
			 
			  Male 8,950 9,296 9,251 9,547 10,284 10,399 7,096 6,926 7,277 8,479 
			  Female 705 775 725 742 735 660 522 521 470 490 
			 17-20 Total 9,655 10,071 9,976 10,289 11,019 11,059 7,618 7,447 7,747 8,969 
			 
			  Male 9,075 8,829 8,222 8,650 9,348 9,605 6,686 6,450 6,439 7,510 
			  Female 1,018 966 829 893 907 936 751 675 629 627 
			 21-24 Total 10,093 9,795 9,051 9,543 10,255 10,541 7,437 7,125 7,068 8,137 
			 
			  Male 10,183 9,592 8,147 7,809 7,963 7,958 6,189 6,114 6,430 7,191 
			  Female 1,257 1,216 1,003 897 1,011 1,024 844 824 792 825 
			 25-29 Total 11,440 10,808 9,150 8,706 8,974 8,982 7,033 6,938 7,222 8,016 
			 
			  Male 14,380 14,413 12,697 12,989 14,239 15,490 12,600 12,882 13,073 14,396 
			  Female 2,041 2,137 1,881 1,785 1,939 2,292 1,927 1,999 1,894 2,028 
			 30 and over Total 16,421 16,550 14,578 14,774 16,178 17,782 14,527 14,881 14,967 16,424 
			 
			 All ages Total 48,821 48,711 44,621 45,621 49,036 51,162 39,197 39,090 39,582 44,565 
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Staffordshire police force were only able to supply a sample of data for magistrates courts proceedings covering one full week in each quarter for 2000. Estimates based on this sample are included in the figures, as they are considered sufficiently robust at this high level of analysis. (4) Cannabis was reclassified from a class B drug to a class C drug in January 2004, which also saw the introduction of the cannabis warning as an out of court disposal.  Source: Evidence and Analysis UnitOffice for Criminal Justice Reform

Prison Accommodation

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisons were exceeding their  (a) certified normal accommodation and  (b) operational capacity at the latest date for which information is available.

Jack Straw: As at 19 December 2008, there were 85 prisons exceeding their certified normal accommodation. The in-use certified normal accommodation (CNA) level is the uncrowded capacity of an establishment, taking into account those places not available for immediate use (i.e. damaged cells or cells affected by building work)
	There are no prisons exceeding their operational capacity. The operational capacity of a prison is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold, taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime. It is determined by area managers on the basis of operational judgement and experience.

Prison Sentences

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effects of sentences of imprisonment for public protection on  (a) levels of discipline among and  (b) the size of the prison population.

David Hanson: Statistics on prison discipline are published annually by the Ministry of Justice in chapter 8 of the Offender Management Caseload Statistics, available publicly at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/omcs2007.pdf
	It is not possible to provide figures on discipline hearings for prisoners subject to indeterminate sentences for public protection because the National Offender Management Service does not collect centrally information on adjudications by sentence type.
	The Ministry of Justice produces annual projections of the prison population, most recently in September 2008.
	Indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPP) are included in the modelling of the prison population. At the time the projections were made, the rate at which IPP were being issued was around 140(1) per month. However, changes made in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 are expected to reduce that to around 45 per month. On 15 December 2008, there were 4,960(1) IPPs in the prison population. The impact of IPP as a sentence on the population will take some time to work through as most, if not all, offenders sentenced to IPP would have in any event received a prison sentence. Any change to the population will therefore be as a result of length of time served.
	More details on the projections may be found in the latest published bulletin, Prison Population Projections 2008-2015 Ministry of Justice Statistics Bulletin, 18 September 2008. This is available at the following webpage:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonpopulation.htm
	(1) Figures rounded to nearest 10.

Prison Service: Surveys

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will instruct the management of the Prison Service to allow the Prison Officers' Association to conduct a ballot of its members in relation to the workforce management proposals.

David Hanson: At their Special Delegates' Conference, the Prisoner Officers' Association called for a workplace ballot on the work force modernisation proposals. A timetable for this to take place has now been set and the ballot is due to take place between 8 and 18 February. It is anticipated that results will be known by 20 February.

Prisons: Education

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what companies have been contracted to provide education services to each prison in Wales in each of the last five years; what the value of each contract was; and what courses were provided under each contract.

David Hanson: From 1998 until end of August 2005 the provision of education services for all public prisons in Wales was contracted to Coleg Gwent. Since then the Prison Service has directly employed teaching staff to deliver education services in Wales and to arrange specific specialist courses to be provided.
	The following table shows the total funding for education services, including library provision, in each of the last five years in public prisons in Wales, which are Cardiff, Usk and Prescoed and Swansea.
	
		
			million 
			 2004-05 1.6 
			 2005-06 1.8 
			 2006-07 2.1 
			 2007-08 2.2 
			 2008-09 2.3 
		
	
	In general the courses delivered in each year during the five year period across the prison estate included the following:
	Basic literacy and numeracy skills.
	Key communication skills.
	Generic courses such as the Arts, English, Maths, Creative Writing, Welsh.
	Vocational courses such as Food Safety and Hygiene, painting and decorating.
	Personal and Social skills.
	Employability skills such as First Aid and Health and Safety.
	Further Education and Open University courses.
	HMP/YOI Parc is a contracted prison and provides education services as part of the overall contract delivery. In addition to the core services which are equivalent to those delivered in HMPS establishments, a supplementary allocation is provided to support the education provision at the prison as follows:
	
		
			
			 2004-05 195,000 
			 2005-06 195,000 
			 2006-07 195,000 
			 2007-08 195,000 
			 2008-09 195,000 
		
	
	In general the courses delivered in each year during the five year period included the following:
	Basic literacy and numeracy skills.
	Key communication skills.
	Generic courses such as the Arts, English, Psychology, Maths, Creative Writing,
	Vocational skills such as food hygiene, painting and decorating.
	Personal and Social skills.
	Employability skills such as First Aid and Health and Safety.
	Further Education and Open University.

Road Traffic Offences: East of England

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were  (a) cautioned and  (b) fined for speeding offences in (i) St Albans constituency, (ii) Hertfordshire and (iii) the East of England in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Speeding offences, under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and Motor Vehicles (Speed Limit on Motorways) Regulations 1973, can be dealt with by way of written warnings, court proceedings or the issuing of a fixed penalty notice.
	Available information collected centrally on the Court Proceedings Database, held by the Ministry of Justice, on the number of persons given a court fine for speed limit offences within the Hertfordshire police force area and the east of England Government office region from 2003 to 2007 (latest available) is provided in table 1 as follows.
	Information collected centrally by the Home Office on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for speeding offences, by area, for the period 2002 to 2006 (latest available) is given in table 2 as follows. Data for 2007 are due to be published in the spring of 2009.
	Formal cautions are not given for motoring offences.
	Data collected centrally are available at police force area level only and therefore information for St. Albans constituency is not available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of magistrates courts imposed fines( 1 ) for speed limit offences( 2)  within the Hertfordshire police force area, and the east of England Government office region( 3) , 2003 to 2007( 4, 5) 
			  Number of offences 
			   Area  Number of fines( 1) 
			 2003 Hertfordshire 2,167 
			  East region 19,249 
			
			 2004 Hertfordshire 1,806 
			  East region 17,607 
			 2005 Hertfordshire 2,990 
			  East region 25,685 
			
			 2006 Hertfordshire 2,915 
			  East region 24,907 
			
			 2007 Hertfordshire 2,525 
			  East region 24,261 
			 (1 )Magistrates courts data only. Fines given at the Crown Court total nationally (England and Wales) less than 10 each year. (2 )Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 ss. 16, 81, 84, 86, 88 and 89; Motor Vehicles (Speed Limit on Motorways) Regs. 1973; Parks Regulation (Amendment) Act 1926byelaws made thereunder. (3 )Includes, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk police force areas. (4 )It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. (5 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  Office for Criminal Justice ReformEvidence and Analysis unit. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Fixed penalty notices issued( 1)  for speed limit offences( 2)  in Hertfordshire police force area and the east of England local government office region, 2002 to 2006 
			  Number of offences 
			  Police force area  2002( 3)  2003( 3)  2004  2005  2006 
			 Hertfordshire 23,203 28,696 61,637 49,738 81,805 
			 East of England(4) 206,632 238,442 274,838 290,362 270,846 
			 (1) Only covers notices paid where there is no further action. (2 )Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973. (3 )Revised since original publication following amendments received from forces. (4 )Includes following police force areas: Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex.  Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Theft: Drugs

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the proportion of people convicted of theft who have a drug addiction in the last 12 months.

Maria Eagle: From information held by the Ministry of Justice it is not possible to separately identify those persons convicted of theft who have a drug addiction.

War Crimes: Prosecutions

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consents are required for the prosecution of an alleged offence relating to war crimes committed overseas following a citizen's arrest in the UK.

Maria Eagle: The Attorney-General's consent is required for the prosecution of war crimes under the War Crimes Act 1991 or the International Criminal Court Act 2001. The Attorney-General's consent is also required for the prosecution of offences under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957.

HEALTH

Tuberculosis/HIV

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of tuberculosis (TB) patients in England are co-infected with HIV; and what plans there are to reduce HIV-TB co-infection rates.

Dawn Primarolo: The most recent data from the Health Protection Agency indicate that approximately 8 per cent. of tuberculosis (TB) cases in England are co-infected with HIV.
	Guidelines for the management of patients with co-infection are available from the British HIV Association, and in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines for TB.

Safe Drinking

Phil Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps his Department has taken to increase public awareness of safe drinking levels.

Dawn Primarolo: In May 2008, we launched a national campaign to increase awareness of alcohol units, lower-risk levels for regular consumption and the health risks of exceeding these levels.
	Early analysis shows promising results, with campaign recall running at 73 per cent. We intend that this campaign should be sustained over a number of years.

Mixed-sex Wards

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to minimise the number of mixed sex wards in NHS hospitals.

Alan Johnson: The national health service has already made significant progress in reducing mixed sex accommodation and two weeks ago, I set out measures for the next six months to eliminate mixed sex accommodation altogether except where clinically justified.
	This will provide practical assistance where problems remain and ensure that, once eradicated, mixed sex accommodation does not re-emerge in the future.

BASICs Doctors

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the role of British Association for Immediate Care doctors in emergency response; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: In the last 12 months, we have received a small number of letters on the role of BASICs in emergency response. There was an adjournment debate in June 2008 and an Early Day Motion tabled by the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. Oaten).
	We think BASICs doctors provide an excellent service and regional strategic health authorities, who are responsible for trauma care in their areas are examining how pre-hospital care can be improved including the sort of services provided by BASICs doctors.

Alternative and Complementary Medicine: Regulation

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Government plans to provide for the statutory regulation of the professions of acupuncture, herbal medicine and traditional Chinese medicine before the EU Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products comes into force in 2011.

Ben Bradshaw: We plan to consult shortly on how best to regulate the activities of these practitioners.

National Dementia Strategy

David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department is planning to issue to NHS organisations and local authorities on the implementation of the National Dementia Strategy for England.

Phil Hope: My hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced publication of the first ever National Dementia Strategy on 3 February this year. Alongside the strategy, the Department also published an implementation plan, which is available on the Department's dementia website. We will also be providing a nationwide regional support programme.

NHS Constitution

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what ways the NHS Constitution will provide rapid access to high-quality healthcare services.

Ann Keen: The NHS Constitution reaffirms people's rights to be treated with a professional standard of care, by appropriately qualified and experienced staff, and to expect NHS organisations to make efforts to improve the quality of health care they provide. It also contains a pledge to provide access to services within published waiting times.

NHS Dentistry

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of levels of access to NHS dentistry.

Ann Keen: 26.9 million people saw an national health service dentist in the 24 months ending June 2008.
	We have increased dental funding to over 2 billion and made providing access to anyone who seeks help in finding services a national priority. The NHS is planning that all areas will deliver this by March 2011.

Financial Incentives: Secondary Care Referrals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he provides to primary care trusts and GPs on the use of financial incentives to reduce numbers of referrals to secondary care.

Ben Bradshaw: General Practitioners have a duty to provide the best care for each patient. Where primary care trusts (PCTs) agree local incentive schemes these should not cut across this duty or restrict patient care. Any incentive scheme must help patients get the right treatment in the most appropriate setting.
	The Department's Care and Resource Utilisation guidance (published in December 2006) set out how PCTs and clinicians can work together to improve the appropriateness of care that patients receive.

Epilepsy Care

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of levels of adherence by primary care trusts and acute trusts to guidance on epilepsy care issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

Ann Keen: We have made no assessment. The Healthcare Commission investigates whether national health service organisations have systems in place for the implementation and monitoring of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's guidance, including clinical guidelines, and will assess each organisation's performance against core standards.

Funding Formula: North Yorkshire/York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what effect the new NHS funding formula has had on North Yorkshire and York primary care trusts' cash allocation for 2009-10.

Ben Bradshaw: The new formula recognises that the needs of the primary care trust (PCT) population have increased due to the combined effects of age, health status and deprivation. This is reflected in the additional funding the PCT will receive, which places North Yorkshire and York PCT in the top 30 per cent. in terms of increased funding. The PCT will receive an increase of 118.6 million or 11.6 per cent. over the next two years.

Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the arrangements for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment services.

Dawn Primarolo: The recent National Audit Office report on alcohol services and the joint Healthcare Commission/National Treatment Agency annual reviews of drug services, show that there is room for improvement in the commissioning of these services. We have introduced the World Class Commissioning programme to improve commissioning of all services by the national health service.

Stroke Awareness

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to raise public awareness of stroke and stroke symptoms.

Ann Keen: On 9 February we launched a national stroke awareness campaign. Through television advertisements, radio and press we are raising awareness of stroke symptoms and educating people to become stroke saversto be able to spot the signs of stroke and know when to call 999 for an ambulance.
	This will contribute to significantly reducing the number of deaths and the disability caused by stroke as part of the implementation of the Stroke Strategy as well as reducing long-term disability for stroke survivors.

Asthma: Hospital Admissions

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in reducing the number of hospital admissions for patients with asthma.

Ann Keen: From 2004-05 to 2006-07 asthma hospital admissions ranged between 66,055 and 70,907, with 70,136 in 2006-07. We have made significant progress in reducing bed days by more than 27,000 over the same period. We support and encourage the national health service to improve the care offered to people with asthma.

Acute Sector Staff: Assaults

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress has been made in reducing the number of assaults on NHS staff in the acute sector.

Ann Keen: The national health service security management service (SMS) was created in 2003, with responsibility for leading on security management work within the NHS. A network of local security management specialists, supported nationally by the SMS, addresses proactive and reactive security needs.
	In April 2004, conflict resolution training was introduced for frontline NHS staff. This enables staff to recognise and defuse potential violence. By 31 March 2008 428,000 frontline staff had received this training.
	In 2007-08, 10,983 physical assaults against NHS staff and 472 criminal sanctions following assaults were reported in the acute sector.
	The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 creates an offence of causing nuisance or disturbance in NHS hospitals and gives trusts the power to remove people suspected of committing the offence from the premises, preventing incidents from escalating into violence. Those convicted of the new offence could face prosecution and a fine of up to 1,000. Guidance on the use of these powers is being prepared and, following a public consultation, the legislation will be commenced and trusts will be able to use these powers.

Venous Thromboembolism

John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to include risk assessment for venous thromboembolism in hospitalised patients as an indicator in the NHS Operating Framework.

Ann Keen: The national priorities for the national health service are set out in the Operating Framework which reflects the three-year settlement determined by the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007. The Operating Framework includes the need to reduce mortality rates; and it is for primary care trusts to determine how to do so locally.
	We expect thromboembolism (VTE) risk assessment policy to be adopted throughout the NHS. Currently, at the request of the Chief Medical Officer, the chair of the national implementation group is visiting throughout the NHS to discuss with senior managers and doctors their strategies for implementing VTE risk assessment in their hospitals. We will be monitoring the position closely and formally reviewing the policy before the end of this year.
	If there is inconsistency in or lack of commitment to implementation, we will consider making it mandatory to perform risk assessment.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many attendances there were at  (a) major accident and emergency departments,  (b) single speciality accident and emergency departments,  (c) other types of accident and emergency departments, including minor injury units and  (d) walk-in centres in each year since 2002.

Ben Bradshaw: The following table shows the number of attendances at major accident and emergency departments, single speciality accident and emergency (A and E) departments, other types of accident and emergency departments including minor injury and walk-in centres in each year since 2002.
	
		
			  Attendances at accident and emergency departments, minor injury units and walk-in centres, England, 2002-03 to 2007-08 
			   Type 1  Type 2  Type 3  Walk-in centres  Total 
			 2002-03 11,994,874 515,808 1,880,840 n/a 14,391,522 
			 2003-04 12,665,482 606,573 1,862,949 1,381,841 16,516,845 
			 2004-05 13,265,820 619,232 1,920,698 2,031,430 17,837,180 
			 2005-06 13,553,686 648,732 2,046,789 2,509,957 18,759,164 
			 2006-07 13,602,589 623,587 2,323,107 2,372,992 18,922,275 
			 2007-08 13,393,554 656,496 2,400,742 2,677,201 19,127,993 
			  Notes: 1. In the table, type 3 excludes walk-in centres. 2. From Q1 2002-03, A and E attendances by type were first collected. 3. From Q1 2003-04, attendances at A and E walk-in centres were included. 4. From Q1 2007-08, attendances at independent sector provided type 3 (and walk-in centre) services were included.  Source: Department of Health dataset QMAE.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the table showing the number of accident and emergency departments by type from his Department's Quarterly Monitoring of Accident and Emergency for  (a) 1997,  (b) 2002,  (c) 2008 and  (d) in the earliest year for which his Department holds records.

Ben Bradshaw: A table showing the number of accident and emergency (A and E) departments by type from the Quarterly Monitoring of Accident and Emergency for  (a) 1997,  (b) 2002,  (c) 2008 and  (d) in the earliest year for which data are held is set out as follows:
	
		
			  A and E departments, 1996-97 to Q2 2008-09 
			  Year  Type 1 (Major)  Type 2 (Single speciality)  Type 3 (Other type of  A and E  minor injury unit) 
			  Number of trusts reporting A and E services
			  (d) 1996-97 205 33 84 
			  (a) 1997-98 202 33 92 
			 
			  Number of A and E services
			  (b) Q3 2002-03 207 47 214 
			  (c) Q2 2008-09 203 75 289 
			  Notes: 1. Prior to 2002-03, Trusts submitted information on whether or not they provided A and E services by type. They did not submit a count of the number of services provided. The guidance also stated: Where there is more than one A and E Department, indicate the A and E Department type that provides the most comprehensive service. 2. From Q1 2003-04, Walk in Centres are included as a Type 3 department.  Source: Department of Health datasets KH03 and QMAE

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been admitted to hospital with an alcohol-related disease in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of alcohol-related finished hospital admissions in England is only available from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and is presented in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of alcohol-related finished hospital admissions in England 
			 2002-03 510,173 
			 2003-04 569,417 
			 2004-05 644,185 
			 2005-06 735,512 
			 2006-07 799,120 
			  Notes: The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO). Following international best practice, the NWPHO methodology includes a wide range of diseases and injuries in which alcohol plays a part and estimates the proportion of cases that are attributable to the consumption of alcohol. Details of the conditions and associated proportions can be found in the report Jones et al. (2008) Alcohol-attributable fractions for England: Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions. Includes activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. Finished admission episodes: A finished admission episode is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. Primary diagnosis: The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. Secondary diagnoses: As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of, care. Number of episodes in which the patient had an alcohol-related primary or secondary diagnosis:  These figures represent the number of episodes where an alcohol-related diagnosis was recorded in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a HES record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if an alcohol-related diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received liver transplants for alcohol-related conditions in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The following table shows the number of people who received liver transplants in the United Kingdom in each financial year since 1 April 1997, where the patient's primary, secondary, or tertiary liver disease was recorded as alcoholic liver disease (ALD):
	
		
			  Number of liver transplants for alcoholic liver disease in the UK, between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 2008 
			  Financial year of transplant  Number of liver transplants for ALD  Percentage of all UK liver transplants 
			 1997-98 94 14 
			 1998-99 86 13 
			 1999-2000 124 18 
			 2000-01 105 16 
			 2001-02 108 16 
			 2002-03 121 17 
			 2003-04 118 17 
			 2004-05 130 20 
			 2005-06 131 21 
			 2006-07 132 20 
			 2007-08 151 23 
			
			 Total 1,300 Average 18

Animal Experiments

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many animals have been used in medical scientific experiments funded by the NHS in the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not held centrally.
	Over the last 10 years, the main part of the Department's total expenditure on health research has been devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual NHS supported research projects undertaken during that time are available on the archived national research register at:
	https://portal.nihr.ac.uk/Pages/NRRArchive.aspx
	The implementation of the Government's health research strategy that began in 2006 means that the Department now funds NHS research and development through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR's role is to support research involving patients, samples or data taken from patients, people who are not patients, populations, health technology assessment, and health services research.

Care Homes: Fees and Charges

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost per week was of  (a) private nursing home care,  (b) private residential care and  (c) domiciliary social care for those needing care for at least 20 hours per week in the last 12 months.

Phil Hope: holding answer 2 February 2009
	Provisional data on local authority expenditure on state funded social care for 2007-08 were collected and published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care. The Information Centre expects to publish final data at the end of February 2009. Data on the costs of care to service users who fund in full their own care are not collected by the Information Centre or the Department.
	Data collected by the Information Centre do not distinguish between care provided by the private and voluntary sectors. The figures show the cost to local authorities of care purchased from independentthat is, private and voluntary togetherproviders for people receiving care aged 18 and over.
	We are informed by the Information Centre that, in 2007-08, data provided by local authorities show that in England the average cost of nursing home care provided by the independent sector was 499 per person per week, exclusive of the nursing care element paid for by the national health service. The average cost of residential care provided by the independent sector was 564 per person per week.
	Although fees for nursing home care are generally higher than those for residential care, the nursing element of residents' care is funded by the NHS, through NHS-funded nursing care, which reduces the net cost to local authorities. NHS-funded nursing care is paid for by primary care trusts. The standard rate is 103.80 per week and the higher rate is 142.80 per week.
	Data are not available on the costs of providing at least 20 hours per week of domiciliary care. The average cost to local authorities for a person aged 18 and over receiving domiciliary social care in 2007-08 was 152 per person per week.

Contaminated Blood and Blood Products Inquiry

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 15 October 1990,  Official Report, column 662W, on haemophiliacs (Aids), 
	(1)  how many of the documents that were withheld from the courts by the Department were among those that were not released to the independent inquiry into contaminated blood and blood products chaired by Lord Archer QC of Sandwell; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many documents were withheld from the courts by the Department; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  which documents that were withheld from the courts by the Department have been subsequently released to the independent inquiry into contaminated blood and blood products chaired by Lord Archer QC of Sandwell; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: In July 1990, the then Permanent Under-Secretary of State certified to the High Court that approximately 600 documents enjoyed immunity from disclosure in civil litigation with regard to haemophiliacs who had contracted the AIDS virus in the course of national health service treatment. A definitive list of the documents is no longer available in the Department's files, and it is not therefore possible to state with confidence how many may also have been withheld in line with the Freedom of Information Act from the approximately 4,500 documents released to Lord Archer in 2007.
	The documents issued to Lord Archer had been rediscovered in the Department stored in unregistered files, and 26 of these unregistered files were marked as undisclosed in litigation. It is therefore believed that these files contain the documents referred to in the 1990 certificate. From those 26 files, 12 documents were withheld in whole and nine in part from those released in 2007. These were withheld in line with exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and not in relation to different decisions made in 1990 when different rules applied.

Contaminated Blood and Blood Products Inquiry

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has received  (a) a draft copy and  (b) an advance copy of the report of the Independent Public Inquiry into Contaminated Blood Products; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has not received a draft copy or an advance copy of the report of the Independent Public Inquiry into Contaminated Blood Products.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate his Department has made of the number and proportion of people in each region who are not accessing the drug and alcohol treatment they require; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: It is the responsibility of primary care trusts (PCTs) and their partner agencies to estimate the level of need for drug and alcohol treatment services for their local population as part of the commissioning process. Data on those not accessing drug and/or alcohol treatment are not collected centrally.
	In 2004 the Department commissioned the Alcohol Needs Assessment Research Project's (ANARP) to measure the gap between the demand for and provision of specialist alcohol treatment services in England at a national and regional level.
	ANARP research was conducted over a period of six months between September 2004 and February 2005, and as part of this work, ANARP estimated that around 5.6 per cent. (approximately 63,000) of the in-need alcohol dependent population were accessing alcohol treatment per year, although the new National Alcohol Treatment Monitoring System suggests that actual numbers may be higher than this. Since the Department published ANARP, in November 2005, action has been taken to improve access to treatment for those dependent on alcohol.
	From April 2008, a new indicator became part of both National Health Service Vital Signs and the National Indicator Set for Local Area Agreements. This measures change in the rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions and is expected to encourage PCTs to invest in earlier identification of people who drink too much, leading to brief advice by general practitioners or other health care staff and, if necessary, referral to treatment. 99 PCTs and 76 local authorities have included this indicator as one of their local priorities, setting out local targets and plans for reducing alcohol related hospital admissions.
	From November 2008, a new Alcohol Improvement Programme is providing practical support and guidance to the NHS including:
	Regional Alcohol Managers to galvanise and support local action;
	a new National Support Team for Alcohol, to provide strategic advice to areas that experience the highest rates of alcohol-related hospital admissions;
	an on-line Alcohol Learning Centre with training resources for practitioners and tools and guidance for planners and commissioners; and
	20 early implementer PCTs in areas of high health inequalities are receiving funding and support to go further faster to reduce alcohol-related harms.

Eating Disorders: Children

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many children between the age of 10 and 18 years were treated for  (a) bulimia and  (b) anorexia in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many  (a) boys and  (b) girls aged (i) under 10, (ii) 10, (iii) 11, (iv) 12, (v) 13, (vi) 14, (vii) 15, (viii) 16, (ix) 17 and (x) 18 years old were admitted to hospital for illnesses or conditions relating to eating disorders in each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: Data on first admission episodes for children and young people admitted to hospital for treatment for bulimia, anorexia and other eating disorders are in the following tables.
	
		
			  Anorexia Nervosa 
			Under 10  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18 
			 2006-07 Male 0 0 4 4 11 9 16 8 0 3 
			  Female 5 10 18 40 47 93 141 108 74 61 
			 
			 2005-06 Male 0 3 6 2 3 5 13 5 11 3 
			  Female 1 10 11 35 56 90 128 69 68 55 
			 
			 2004-05 Male 2 1 2 8 3 12 7 6 2 4 
			  Female 4 12 7 30 53 92 72 71 53 52 
			 
			 2003-04 Male 1 1 2 4 5 6 6 3 6 2 
			  Female 1 4 27 21 62 63 73 69 68 58 
			 
			 2002-03 Male 1 3 0 2 5 4 7 6 3 4 
			  Female 1 17 10 12 63 80 89 68 97 41 
			 
			 2001-02 Male 0 1 3 8 7 5 3 5 2 1 
			  Female 4 4 7 23 45 63 87 72 68 61 
			 
			 2000-01 Male 0 1 1 3 0 1 6 1 0 0 
			  Female 3 7 4 21 31 86 87 67 64 40 
			 
			 1999-2000 Male 0 0 1 2 2 3 3 1 0 0 
			  Female 1 8 6 14 39 70 94 76 47 75 
			 
			 1998-99 Male 0 0 1 2 8 1 6 1 5 0 
			  Female 2 3 9 44 68 51 69 63 50 55 
			 
			 1997-98 Male 1 5 1 0 4 5 5 2 2 1 
			  Female 2 5 28 17 36 56 72 64 45 36 
			 
			 1996-97 Male 1 0 0 1 1 11 6 2 2 40 
			  Female 1 9 11 13 34 58 75 55 51 40 
		
	
	
		
			  Bulimia Nervosa 
			Under 10  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18 
			 2006-07 Male 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 
			  Female 1 0 0 0 1 1 4 3 5 3 
			 
			 2005-06 Male 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 
			  Female 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 4 8 
			 
			 2004-05 Male 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 
			  Female 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 3 6 2 
			 
			 2003-04 Male 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			  Female 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 2 3 5 
			 
			 2002-03 Male 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 
			  Female 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 2 4 14 
			 
			 2001-02 Male 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Female 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 6 9 3 
			 
			 2000-01 Male 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 
			  Female 0 0 1 0 0 2 4 3 4 0 
			 
			 1999-2000 Male 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Female 0 0 0 0 0 5 6 8 3 6 
			 
			 1998-99 Male 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			  Female 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 4 3 7 
			 
			 1997-98 Male 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 
			  Female 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 9 13 9 
			 
			 1996-97 Male 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 
			  Female 0 0 0 0 1 7 8 10 2 11 
		
	
	
		
			  Other types of eating disorders 
			Under 10  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18 
			 2006-07 Male 44 8 3 8 8 0 0 2 2 0 
			  Female 30 3 11 8 11 9 16 11 9 5 
			 
			 2005-06 Male 45 14 1 3 6 3 1 2 0 2 
			  Female 34 3 10 5 10 11 16 16 14 3 
			 
			 2004-05 Male 17 3 0 5 11 10 4 0 1 2 
			  Female 29 11 2 6 5 28 12 4 7 6 
			 
			 2003-04 Male 101 0 4 2 6 2 1 0 2 0 
			  Female 34 4 4 4 11 9 10 6 6 10 
			 
			 2002-03 Male 59 72 3 8 4 2 2 2 0 1 
			  Female 23 4 7 10 5 11 9 8 9 4 
			 
			 2001-02 Male 28 0 1 4 0 3 0 0 2 0 
			  Female 36 9 11 1 7 7 11 1 8 3 
			 
			 2000-01 Male 16 4 2 2 4 1 3 0 2 0 
			  Female 23 5 4 6 20 18 13 11 8 4 
			 
			 1999-2000 Male 15 0 2 1 2 6 3 1 0 1 
			  Female 29 8 6 15 18 10 12 6 7 9 
			 
			 1998-99 Male 32 1 2 2 5 0 2 1 1 0 
			  Female 25 0 5 3 10 13 11 6 9 6 
			 1997-98 Male 44 2 3 3 4 4 4 0 0 0 
			  Female 54 1 4 7 10 10 8 10 5 5 
			 
			 1996-97 Male 60 7 5 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 
			  Female 52 3 3 4 11 8 17 10 5 6 
			  Notes: 1. Finished admission episodes: A finished admission episode is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 2. Diagnosis (Primary Diagnosis): The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) dataset and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. 3. Ungrossed data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in the data, i.e. the data are ungrossed. 4. Data Quality: HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 5. Assessing growth through time: HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. During the years that these records have been collected the national health service there have been ongoing improvements in quality and coverage. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care

Health Authorities

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the  (a) agenda and  (b) minutes of the meeting he held with the chairs of strategic health authorities on 13 January 2009; and whether he holds meetings with this group on a regular basis.

Ben Bradshaw: The meeting on 13 January 2009 was a private, informal dinner between my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the chairs of the strategic health authorities (SHAs). There was no formal agenda or minutes taken. Issues discussed at the dinner included: the future of the medical work force, professional revalidation, mixed sex accommodation, NHS productivity, capital investment, regulation and diversity and equality.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State normally meets with the SHA chairs on a quarterly basis.

Heart Diseases: Medical Treatments

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will amend the quality and outcomes framework to calibrate rewards to GPs reflecting preventative treatment given to patient groups at high risk of coronary heart disease as well as groups of patients with coronary heart disease.

Ben Bradshaw: The agreement between NHS Employers and the British Medical Association on the GP contract for 2009-10 included new Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) indicators addressing seven clinical priorities, including two new indicators for cardiovascular disease primary prevention. These new indicators will reward practices for carrying out a cardiovascular risk assessment and providing lifestyle advice for patients with a new diagnosis of hypertension.
	The Department has asked the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to oversee a new independent and transparent process for developing and reviewing QOF clinical and health improvement indicators for England from 1 April 2009 as part of their role in providing guidance for the national health service based on evidence of clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness. We launched a public consultation on the proposed new process on 30 October 2008. The consultation ended on 2 February. Subject to the outcome of that consultation, any proposal for further changes to QOF indicators would need to be considered under that new process.

Hepatitis

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what proportion of patients with  (a) chronic hepatitis,  (b) cirrhosis and  (c) hepatocellular carcinoma their condition is due to chronic infection with hepatitis B virus; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: It is not possible to use Hospital Episode Statistics to provide data on chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma due to hepatitis B virus. Although there are disease codes to describe these conditions individually, it is not possible to show that one condition has been caused by the other.
	However, it is generally accepted that hepatitis B is a significant cause of chronic hepatitis, and that about 20 to 25 per cent. of individuals with chronic hepatitis B infection world-wide are at increased risk of developing cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer.

Hepatitis

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make additional funding available to primary care trusts for the use of pegylated interferon for the anti-viral treatment of chronic hepatitis B; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much and what percentage of the 2008-09 budget of each  (a) health authority and  (b) primary care trust is allocated for the treatment of hepatitis B; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Funding for hepatitis B treatment is included within the revenue allocations for primary care trusts (PCTs). The allocations also fund the costs of meeting recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. The 2008-09 PCT allocations represent 74.2 billion investment in the national health service, a total increase in funding of 3.8 billion. PCTs have also been informed of their 2009-10 and 2010-11 allocations, a total of 164 billion investment over the two years, a cash increase of 8.6 billion.
	The Department does not break down PCT allocations by policies, at either a national or local level. It is for PCTs to decide their priorities for investment locally, taking into account both local priorities and the NHS Operating Framework.
	Responsibility for providing services for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B lies with PCTs and their local partners, as they are best placed to assess what is needed in their areas. Information about local expenditure on hepatitis B services is not available centrally.

Hepatitis

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what studies have been  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated by his Department into the likely incidence of chronic hepatitis B over the next (i) five and (ii) 10 years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what studies have been  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated by his Department on monitoring the changes in the epidemiology of hepatitis B infection following the introduction of an anti-viral treatment with interferon and ribvarin since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has not commissioned or evaluated any studies into the incidence of chronic hepatitis B over the next five or 10 years in England or into the effect of antiviral therapy on the epidemiology of chronic hepatitis B since 1997.
	Surveillance of hepatitis B suggests that the incidence of both chronic and acute hepatitis B in this country remains low. The Health Protection Agency monitors epidemiological trends in hepatitis B infection and published in 2004 a review of the incidence of hepatitis B in England and Wales from 1995-2000(1).
	Ribavirin is used (in combination with pegylated interferon) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, not chronic hepatitis B, as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.
	(1) Hahne S, Ramsay M, Balogun K, Edmunds WJ and Mortimer P. (2004). Incidence and routes of transmission of hepatitis B virus in England and Wales, 1995-2000: implications for immunisation policy.  Journal of Clinical Virology 29:211-20.

Maternity Services

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of maternity ward places needed in England in  (a) 2010,  (b) 2015 and  (c) 2025; and what estimate he has made of the cost of any increase;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the projected rise in population on the  (a) number of and  (b) cost of provision of maternity ward places in England in (i) 2010, (ii) 2015 and (iii) 2025; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Department made an overall assessment of the pressures on the national health service for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11 as part of the 2007 comprehensive spending review. This was not at the level of individual services such as maternity wards. Funding for maternity services is included within overall primary care trust (PCT) revenue allocations.
	Local NHS organisations are responsible for developing maternity services in response to the needs of their local population, and for ensuring that they have sufficient wards, and sufficient staff, with the right skills, to offer appropriate choices.
	We have provided an extra 330 million over three years in PCT baseline allocations for 2008-09 to 2010-11, to support maternity services. Strategic health authorities are planning to recruit an additional 1,000 midwives by September 2009 and altogether 4,000 more by 2012, contingent on the rising birth rate, to meet the demands of rising births and the aspirations of Maternity Matters. A copy of Maternity Matters has already been placed in the Library.

Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the report to his Department from PricewaterhouseCoopers on the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Ben Bradshaw: A copy of the report has been placed in the Library, Some details in the report have been redacted where the following conditions of the Freedom of Information Act apply;
	(1) Section 36(2)(b) and (c)where disclosure of the information would inhibit the free and frank provision of advice, or the free and frank exchange of views, for the purposes of deliberation, or would otherwise prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs. Section 36 is statutory recognition of the public interest in allowing government to have a clear space, immune from exposure to public view, in which it can debate matters internally with candour and free from the pressures of public political debate. Ministers and Government officials need to be able to engage in free and frank discussion of policy options to expose their merits and demerits, and their possible implications. Their candour in doing so will be affected by their assessment of whether the content of such discussion will be disclosed in the future.
	(2) Section 41(1)where the information in the report was received by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in confidence. Disclosure of this information would make it less likely that this type of information is provided freely to the Department in the future, and consequently undermine the ability of the Department to fulfil its role. The provider(s) of that information are content that some of this information can be disclosed. The limited amount to which this does not apply has been redacted.
	(3) Section 43(2)where the information in the report is commercially sensitive, and its disclosure has the potential to damage the trust's commercial interests. The report includes information from the trust's long term financial model (LTFM) that includes detailed information about future income and expenditure. Release of this information is likely to prejudice the trust's commercial interests by adversely affecting its position in contractual negotiations and commercial transactions.

NHS: Accountancy

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards from April 2009 on the revenue of NHS organisations; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: National health service organisations are currently completing their 2009-10 plans and will be assessing the revenue impact of introducing international financial reporting standards (IFRS) as part of this planning process.
	The 2009-10 operating framework requires NHS organisations to submit their final IFRS compliant financial plans for 2009-10 by the end of March 2009 and as such, the detailed financial impact of moving to IFRS is not currently available.

NHS: Drugs

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whose responsibility it is to inform a patient in cases where a primary care trust Exceptional Circumstances Panel refuses an application for funding for a procedure.

Dawn Primarolo: It is for primary care trusts to ensure that arrangements are in place to communicate such decisions to patients.

NHS: Energy

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has spent on energy efficiency and energy conservation measures in each of the last five years; and how much it is spending on such measures in 2008-09.

Phil Hope: The information is not collected centrally for the time scales requested.
	The Department's energy and sustainability fund has been allocated to national health service trusts. From this fund, there has been 18.9 million provided to schemes in 2007-08 and 76.3 million has been provided for 2008-09. These figures do not include similar schemes that trusts have funded from their own resources.

NHS: Equality

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to facilitate the NHS's compliance with its gender equality duty under the Equality Act 2006 with respect to service design and delivery.

Phil Hope: The NHS Constitution for England, published in January 2009 states that the national health service should provide a comprehensive service, available to all irrespective of gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief. At the same time, the NHS is reminded that it has a wider social duty to promote equality through the services it provides and to pay particular attention to groups or sections of society where improvements in health and life expectancy are not keeping pace with the rest of the population.
	In conjunction with a range of stakeholders, the Department supports the NHS to mainstream gender equality in a variety of ways. In 2007 we published practical guidance on how NHS organisations should develop and use gender equality schemes, and integrate gender equality into mainstream business. In the same year, we co-published an equality guide to enhance NHS board members' understanding of their legal duties under gender and other equality legislation. A copy of both publications has been placed in the Library. In March 2008, the chief executive of the NHS wrote to all strategic health authority chief executives, reminding them of their duties in relation to gender equality and other equality and human rights legislation, and encouraging them to be legally compliant and to support trusts in their areas to be compliant as well. We are currently running a 'Learning Sites' programme to support the development of single equality schemes, with a clear focus on gender and other specific equality issues. The Department's Pacesetters programme is trialling a number of innovative approaches to improving the NHS's equality performance. A number focus on gender equality.

NHS: Private Sector

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that the arrangements for patients to pay privately for treatments that the NHS will not pay for do not act as a disincentive for pharmaceutical companies to develop cheaper treatments.

Dawn Primarolo: The 2009 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) recognised that it is in all of our interests to encourage research and reward innovation, which is why, for the first time, it promotes the uptake of cost-effective innovative treatments. At the same time, the PPRS will ensure that the national health service gets better value for money. The PPRS will deliver efficiency savings and includes new arrangements on flexible pricing and patient access schemes to ensure that value is better reflected in pricing.

Obesity: North East

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken by his Department to combat obesity amongst young people in the North East.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on 28 January 2009,  Official Report, column 650W.
	At a local level, it is the responsibility of primary care trusts (PCTs) working with local authorities to co-ordinate work to tackle childhood obesity. PCT plans, developed alongside local authority Children and Young People's Plans, will feed into local area agreements agreed with the Government offices. Local areas will develop and implement their own initiatives based on local needs and circumstances.

Obesity: Surgery

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department and its agencies have issued to healthcare professionals on assessing patients for  (a) the fitting of gastric bands and  (b) other bariatric surgery.

Dawn Primarolo: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has set 'Guidance on the prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children', available at
	www.nice.org.uk/CG43.
	This guidance is for both health and non-health professionals, and contains guidance on when bariatric surgery may be considered as an option.
	It is up to primary care trusts as local commissioners and providers of services to determine the most appropriate methods to deliver health care to their populations, based on clinical need and effectiveness, and following medical advice.

Obesity: Surgery

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients have had a gastric band fitted in 2007-08; and how many of them were readmitted to hospital as an emergency within three months of surgery as a result of complications.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available in the form requested.
	Data are not yet available for 2007-08. Data are provided for 2006-07 which show that there were 706 finished consultant episodes where there was a primary diagnosis of obesity and an insertion of a gastric band as a main operation carried out in England. Gastric bands are only one type of procedure recommended for the treatment of obesity by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.
	Data on emergency readmissions rates are collected by the National Centre for Health Outcomes Development and published at www.nchod.nhs.uk. Analysis from this source for gastric band surgery can be produced only at disproportionate cost.
	 Notes:
	 Finished Consultant Episode (FCE)
	A finished consultant episode (FCE) is defined as a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. The figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.
	 Number of episodes in which the patient had a (named) primary diagnosis
	These figures represent the number of episodes where the diagnosis was recorded in the primary diagnosis field in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record.
	 The ICD-10 code used to identify obesity is as follows:
	E66Obesity
	 Main procedure
	The main procedure is the first recorded procedure or intervention in the Hospital HES data set and is usually the most resource intensive procedure or intervention performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main procedure when looking at admission details, (e.g. time waited), but a more complete count of episodes with a particular procedure is obtained by looking at the main and the secondary procedure.
	 The OPCS code used to identify a gastric band insertion is as follows:
	G30.3Partitioning of stomach using band
	 Data Quality
	HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.
	 Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

Organs

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many organs donated by British people have been sold to non-UK citizens in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: None. Section 32 of the Human Tissue Act 2004 makes it illegal to deal commercially in human material for transplantation.

Osteoporosis

Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the level of compliance among NHS trusts with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's Technology Appraisal 87;
	(2)  what percentage of women with a fragility fracture did not receive care and treatment in accordance with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's Technology Appraisal 87 in the last 12 months;
	(3)  which NHS trusts  (a) complied and  (b) did not comply with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's Technology Appraisal 87 in 2007-08.

Dawn Primarolo: We have no data on, nor made an estimate of, the level of compliance among trusts with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE's) technology appraisal number 87.
	Information on the number of women not treated in accordance with technology appraisal 87 is not collected.
	Primary care trusts have a legal obligation to provide funding for treatments recommended by NICE within three months of the guidance being issued. NICE guidance is also included in 'Standards for Better Health' (a copy has already been placed in the Library), which sets out the Government's high-level expectations for the health service. Adherence to NICE technology appraisals is one of the core standards against which NHS organisations are assessed in the Healthcare Commission's annual health check.

Patient Choice Schemes

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people used Choose and Book in each  (a) primary care trust and  (b) strategic health authority in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The number of people who used choose and book (CAB) in each primary care trust (PCT) and each strategic health authority (SHA) in the latest period data are available for (January 2009) are shown in the document general practitioner referrals to first out-patient appointments made using CAB by PCT and SHAJanuary 2009, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

Sativex

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of patients prescribed Sativex since it became available on a named patient basis, broken down by the type of illness for which it was prescribed.

Phil Hope: Information on the number of patients prescribed a medicine and the condition for which that medicine is prescribed is not collected centrally. The number of Sativex prescription items dispensed in the community in England, is in the following table.
	
		
			   Prescription items (Thousand) 
			 2004 (1) 
			 2005 0.3 
			 2006 1.5 
			 2007 1.9 
			 (1) Less than 50 items.  Source: Prescription Cost Analysis System.

Teenage Pregnancy

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what projections he has made of future trends in unintended pregnancies amongst teenagers.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	Government have set an ambitious target of halving the under-18 conception rate by 2010 (compared to the 1998 baseline rate). On average, the under-18 conception rate fell 1.6 per cent. each year between 1998 and 2006 (the latest year for which annual data are available), reversing the previous upward trend. This steady decline means that in 2006, the teenage pregnancy rate was at its lowest level since the mid 1980s.
	However, this rate of progress needs to be accelerated in order to achieve the 2010 target. A number of local areas are showing that rapid progress is possible, with local reductions of over 30 per cent. since 1998. However, in other areas rates have remained static and in a minority of areas rates have increased. We have issued guidance to local authorities and PCTs based on the lessons learned from the best performing areas and will be challenging those areas where progress has been slow to demonstrate how they have used this guidance to accelerate progress.
	In addition, we have provided PCTs with extra funding (26.8 million in this and the next two financial years) to improve young people's access to effective contraception and have set out our intention to make Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) statutory, to drive up the quality of sex and relationships education. We will also be strengthening our communications to both young people and parents.

Teenage Pregnancy

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) of 27 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 665-66W, on teenage pregnancy, if he will place in the Library a copy of the memorandum of understanding between his Department and strategic health authorities.

Dawn Primarolo: A copy of the draft memorandum of understanding has been placed in the Library.

Teenage Pregnancy

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of  (a) the effectiveness of programmes intended to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies and  (b) the adequacy of the budget allocated to primary care trusts for such purposes.

Dawn Primarolo: A total of 26.8 million has been allocated this year to strategic health authorities (SHAs) and primary care trusts (PCTs) to improve women's knowledge of, and access to the full range of contraception, to help reduce the number of teenage pregnancies and abortions.
	It is for SHAs and PCTs to determine how to use this funding most effectively to meet the needs of their local populations. However, departmental officials are working with SHAs to provide advice and spread good practice. Priority areas include encouraging innovation and ensuring equitable access to all methods of contraception including long acting reversible methods.
	The South West Public Health Observatory are developing a balanced score card for sexual health which will monitor a range of indicators at PCT, SHA and national level. This will be available during 2009 and the first phase will focus on outcomes for young people.

Teenage Pregnancy: Nottingham

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on initiatives to reduce teenage pregnancy levels in Nottingham in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not held centrally. However, a total of 26.8 million additional funding has been allocated this year to strategic health authorities (SHAs) and primary care trusts (PCTs) to improve women's knowledge of, and access to the full range of contraception, and to help reduce the number of teenage pregnancies and abortions. It is for SHAs and PCTs to determine how to use this funding most effectively to meet the needs of their local populations.

Thalidomide

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest projection is of the age-specific mortality rates of thalidomiders.

Dawn Primarolo: We have made no projection of the age-specific mortality rates for those living with the effects of thalidomide.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Building Schools for the Future Programme

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the  (a) original expected completion date and  (b) current expected completion date is of each unfinished Building Schools for the Future project; and what the reasons are for delay in completion of each delayed project.

Jim Knight: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 468W. There has been no change in current expected completion dates.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools are planned to be re-built under the Building Schools for the Future programme in each year from 2009 to 15; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the projected trajectory for schools which will be transformed through the Building Schools for the Future programme, including new build, remodelled, refurbished and ICT-only schools:
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of schools expected to open 
			 2009-10 115 
			 2010-11 165 
			 2011-12 onwards 200+ 
		
	
	These are the current plans, which may change as projects develop. Plans for schools in later waves of the programme have not yet been finalised.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which Building Schools for the Future school designs have been assessed as  (a) excellent,  (b) good,  (c) not yet good enough and  (d) mediocre by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Schools Design Panel of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) assesses proposals for schools against 10 key design criteria, using the ratings 'excellent', 'good', 'mediocre' and 'poor'. For a scheme to achieve an overall design quality rating of 'good', it must achieve at least 10 'good's. If the majority scores are 'good', but one or more key criteria are rated 'mediocre', the overall design quality rating will be set as 'not yet good enough'. In other cases the balance of scores between 'excellent' and 'good', and between 'mediocre' and 'poor' will determine which category the overall assessment falls in.
	By 4 February 2009, the Panel had assessed 163 design proposals for 47 schools within 18 local authorities in the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Many of these reviews take place when two or more bidders are developing proposals for a BSF project and so the Panel will see different proposals for the same schools. Brief reports of these assessments are given to the local authority's BSF project team which, in turn, will share individual reports with the appropriate bidders. Bidding teams therefore receive a steer on how to improve their designs when necessary. Because these reviews take place while bidders are still in competition with each other the reports, and the design quality ratings they contain, are confidential.
	The Panel also reviews design proposals for schools when planning applications are referred to it. These applications are in the public domain and CABE publishes the results of its reviews on its website. The assessments of BSF schools are set out in the table.
	
		
			  Local authority  School name:  Funding  Overall Score  Stage 
			 Bristol St. Bernadette Catholic Secondary School BSF Mediocre Planning 
			  Ashton Park School BSF NYGE Planning 
			  Cotham School BSF Excellent Planning 
			  Florence Brown Community School BSF NYGE Planning 
			  St. Mary Redcliffe and Temple C of E School BSF Good Planning 
			  St. Bedes Catholic College BSF NYGE Planning 
			 Derbyshire Springwell Community School BSF NYGE Planning 
			  Bolsover School BSF Good Planning 
			  Heritage Community School BSF NYGE Planning 
			 Islington Highbury Grove School BSF Mediocre Planning 
			   BSF NYGE Amended planning 
			 Lambeth Stockwell Park School BSF Excellent Planning 
			  The Elmgreen School BSF NYGE Planning 
			   BSF NYGE Amended planning 
			 Lewisham Prendergast Vale School BSF NYGE Planning 
			  Northbrook C of E school BSF NYGE Planning 
			 Luton Barnfield South Academy BSF Good Planning 
			  Barnfield West Academy BSF Good Planning 
			 Newham Sarah Bonnell School BSF NYGE Planning 
			  Rokeby School BSF NYGE Planning 
			  Lister Community School BSF Mediocre Planning 
			 South Tyneside Mortimer Community College BSF NYGE Planning 
			  Jarrow School JBSF Mediocre Planning 
			 Southwark St. Michael's RC School BSF Good Planning 
			  Tuke School BSF Good Planning 
			 Tower Hamlets St. Paul's Way Community School BSF NYGE Planning 
			  Bethnal Green Technology College BSF NYGE Planning 
			 Westminster Pimlico School BSF NYGE Planning 
			   BSF NYGE Amended Planning 
			  St. Marylebone C of E School BSF Mediocre Planning 
			   BSF Mediocre Planning 
			  Westminster City School BSF Mediocre Planning 
			   BSF Mediocre Amended 
			 Wirral Woodchurch High School BSF NYGE Planning 
		
	
	We do not, and will not, tolerate poorly designed schools. Design quality has improved in 74 per cent. of the 66 schemes in BSF that the Panel has seen on more than one occasion. Bidders are clearly listening and benefiting from the advice they receive. However, there is always room for improvement. This summer we will introduce a Minimum Standard of Design for schools in BSF to further safeguard our investments in schools. This will mean that proposals for a school will have to achieve a minimum standard of design quality before a BSF deal can be completed.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools constructed under the Building Schools for the Future programme were planned to open between December 2008 and December 2010; when he expects each such school to open; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The following tables list the schools which we expect to open in 2009 and 2010 as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme. These dates reflect current plans and may be subject to change.
	
		
			  Planned to open in 2009 
			  Local authority  School 
			 Bristol Bridge Learning Campus 
			 Bromley Langley Park 
			 Buckinghamshire Cressex Community 
			 Cornwall Penryn College 
			 Darlington Eastbourne C of E 
			 Durham Durham Johnston 
			 Essex Lower Basildon 
			 Gloucestershire Rednock 
			 Hackney Mossbourne Community College 
			 Haringey Highgate Woods School 
			 Islington Samuel Rhodes SEN 
			 Islington St. Aloysius College (RC) 
			 Kent St. George C of E 
			 Kent Northfleet School for Girls 
			 Kent King Elthbert 
			 Kent Dane Court 
			 Kent Whitstable 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames Chessington Community College 
			 Knowsley North Huyton, Christ the King Joint Faith LC4 
			 Knowsley Halewood LC8 
			 Knowsley Kirkby Community LC1/LC3 
			 Knowsley Knowsley Central Community LC6 
			 Knowsley South Huyton Community LC5 
			 Lambeth Elm Court SEN 
			 Lambeth Elm Green 
			 Lancashire Sir John Thursby 
			 Lancashire Sir John Thursby SEN 
			 Leeds Allerton Grange 
			 Leeds Cardinal Heenan 
			 Leeds John Smeaton 
			 Leeds Ralph Thoresby 
			 Leeds City of Leeds 
			 Leeds Primrose 
			 Leeds New Inner West Leeds 
			 Leeds Temple Moor High 
			 Leicester Beaumont Leys 
			 Leicester Fullhurst 
			 Leicester Judgemeadow 
			 Leicester Soar Valley 
			 Lewisham Sedgehill 
			 Lewisham Catford 
			 Lewisham Crofton 
			 Lewisham Forest Hill 
			 Lewisham Greenvale 
			 Lewisham New Woodlands 
			 Liverpool Lower Lee 
			 Manchester St. Matthews RC 
			 Manchester North Ridge SEN 
			 Manchester Our Lady's RC 
			 Manchester Meade Hill 
			 Manchester Piper Hill 
			 Manchester St. Pauls 
			 Manchester Buglawton Hall 
			 Manchester Buglawton SEN Residential 
			 Milton Keynes Sir Frank Markham Academy 
			 Newcastle Gosforth Central 
			 Newcastle Gosforth East 
			 Newcastle Heaton Manor 
			 Newcastle Sacred Heart 
			 Newcastle Thomas Bewick 
			 North Somerset Nailsea Community 
			 North Yorkshire Richmond 
			 Nottingham Big Wood 
			 Nottingham Oakfields Special School Centre of Excellence 
			 Plymouth Estover Community College 
			 Rutland Vale of Catmose College 
			 Sheffield Newfield 
			 Sheffield Talbot SEN 
			 Sheffield Silverdale 
			 Sheffield Ecclesfield 
			 Sheffield Fir Vale 
			 Sheffield Tapton 
			 Solihull Smith's Wood 
			 South Tyneside and Gateshead Boldon 
			 South Tyneside and Gateshead Kings Meadow 
			 South Tyneside and Gateshead Lord Lawson of Beamish 
			 South Tyneside and Gateshead Jarrow 
			 South Tyneside and Gateshead Mortimer 
			 St. Helens Cowley 
			 Sunderland Castle View Academy 
			 Sunderland Hylton Red House Academy 
			 Sunderland Pennywell 
			 Sunderland Sandhill View 
			 Sunderland Washington 
			 Tower Hamlets Wessex 
			 Waltham Forest Kelmscott 
			 Waltham Forest Walthamstow Girls 
			 Westminster Pimlico 
			 Westminster St. Marleybone CE 
			 Westminster Westminster City Boys 
			 Wigan Abraham Guest High 
		
	
	
		
			  Planned to open in 2010 
			  Local authority  School 
			 Barking and Dagenham Eastbury 
			 Barnet East Barnet 
			 Barnsley Darton High 
			 Barnsley New (Royston/Edward Sheerien) 
			 Barnsley The Dearne High 
			 Barnsley Kirk Balk 
			 Bath and North East Somerset Writhlington 
			 Bracknell Forest Garth Hill 
			 Brent Ark Academy 
			 Bristol St. Bedes 
			 Bristol Florence Brown 
			 Bristol St. Bernadettes 
			 Bristol Hengrove Academy 
			 Bristol Colston's Girls' Academy 
			 Cumbria Richard Rose Central Academy 
			 Derbyshire Bolsover 
			 Derbyshire Heritage 
			 Derbyshire Springwell 
			 Devon Bideford College 
			 Dorset Queen Elizabeth's CE VC 
			 Durham Peterlee (Shotton Hall) 
			 East Sussex Bexhill High 
			 Hackney Skinners Academy 
			 Hackney Stoke Newington 
			 Haringey Alexandra Park 
			 Haringey Hornsey School 
			 Haringey Pupil Support Unit 
			 Haringey Young Peoples Centre 
			 Haringey John Loughborough 
			 Haringey Fortismere School and Blanche Nevile 
			 Haringey Northumberland Park 
			 Haringey Gladesmore 
			 Haringey Heartlands High 
			 Haringey St. Thomas More 
			 Harrow Whitmore High 
			 Herefordshire The Minster College 
			 Isle of Wight Cowes Learning Centre 
			 Islington Highbury Grove 
			 Islington Highbury New Sixth Form 
			 Islington Holloway School 
			 Kent Charles Dickens 
			 Kent Northfleet Technology College 
			 Kent St. Johns 
			 Kent Thamesview 
			 Kent Cornwallis 
			 Kent New Line Learning Academy 
			 Kent Ellington High School for Girls 
			 Kent Herne Bay 
			 Kingston upon Hull Kelvin Hall 
			 Kingston upon Hull Sirius Academy 
			 Knowsley Kirkby RC LC2 
			 Knowsley Knowsley Central RC LC7 
			 Lambeth Stockwell Park 
			 Lambeth Lilian Bayliss 
			 Lancashire Marsden Heights 
			 Lancashire Unity 
			 Lancashire Accrington Academy 
			 Lancashire Blessed Trinity 
			 Lancashire Hameldon 
			 Lancashire Hameldon SEN 
			 Leeds Crawshaw 
			 Leeds South Leeds High 
			 Leeds Priesthorpe 
			 Leeds Mount St. Marys 
			 Lewisham Sydenham 
			 Lewisham New School Ladywell 
			 Lewisham Northbrook 
			 Lewisham Hatcham 
			 Lincolnshire Priory LSST 
			 Liverpool Alsop 
			 Liverpool Ernst Cookson 
			 Liverpool West Derby 
			 Liverpool Broughton Hall 
			 Liverpool Cardinal Heenan 
			 Liverpool Gateacre 
			 Liverpool Hope 
			 Luton Barnfield West Academy 
			 Luton Barnfield South Academy 
			 Manchester Chorlton 
			 Manchester Inclusion Centre 1: Manchester 
			 Manchester Parrs Wood 
			 Manchester New SEN 
			 Manchester Health Academy 
			 Manchester Construction and the Built Environment Academy 
			 Manchester Creative Media Academy 
			 Manchester Business Enterprise Academy 
			 Manchester Financial and Professional Services Academy 
			 Manchester St. Peters 
			 Manchester King David High 
			 Middlesbrough Priory Woods SEN 
			 Middlesbrough Acklam Grange 
			 Middlesbrough Beverley SEN 
			 Middlesbrough Ormesby 
			 Newcastle Trinity Dene View 
			 Newcastle Gosforth High 
			 Newcastle Trinity Oakfield 
			 Newcastle Gosforth Junior High 
			 Newham Brampton Manor 
			 Newham Rokeby 
			 Newham Sarah Bonnell 
			 Norfolk The Open Academy 
			 North East Lincolnshire Havelock Academy 
			 North Lincolnshire Brumby 
			 North Lincolnshire Melior 
			 Northamptonshire Holy Trinity Academy 
			 Nottingham Hadden Park 
			 Nottingham Bulwell Academy 
			 Nottingham Samworth University Academy 
			 Nottinghamshire The Samworth Church Academy 
			 Oxfordshire The Oxford Academy 
			 Redbridge Loxford School of Science and Technology 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames Teddington 
			 Rochdale St. Annes Academy 
			 Salford Harrott Fold 
			 Salford Buile Hill 
			 Salford Albion 
			 Salford Oakwood 
			 Salford Chatsworth 
			 Salford Beis Yakov 
			 Sefton Litherland High 
			 Sheffield Firth Park 
			 Sheffield Heritage Park 
			 Sheffield Holgate Meadows 
			 Sheffield King Ecgbert 
			 Sheffield Pupil Referral Unit East Hill KS4 
			 Sheffield Pupil Referral Unit Spring Lane KS3 
			 Sheffield Hinde House 
			 Shropshire William Brookes 
			 South Gloucestershire Filton High 
			 South Tyneside and Gateshead St.Wilfrids RC 
			 South Tyneside and Gateshead St. Josephs RC 
			 Southend-on-Sea Belfairs High 
			 Southwark Walworth Academy 
			 Southwark Spa 
			 Southwark Charter 
			 Southwark St. Michael's and All Angels 
			 Southwark Tuke 
			 Sunderland Biddick 
			 Sunderland St. Robert of Newminster RC 
			 Sutton Stanley Park High 
			 Tameside KS3 Pupil Referral Unit 
			 Tameside New Charter Academy 
			 Tameside Littlemoss High/Droylsden Academy 
			 Tameside Alder 
			 Torbay Torbay Community College 
			 Tower Hamlets Ian Mikardo 
			 Tower Hamlets George Greens 
			 Tower Hamlets Bethnal Green 
			 Tower Hamlets St. Pauls Way 
			 Trafford St. Ambrose College 
			 Waltham Forest Whitefields 
			 Warrington Culcheth High 
			 West Berkshire St. Bartholomew's 
			 West Sussex Bognor Regis Community College 
			 Westminster New Pupil Referral Unit 
			 Westminster College Park 
			 Wiltshire George Ward 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead Holyport Manor SEN 
			 Wirral Woodchurch High 
			 Wokingham Waingels College 
			 York Joseph Rowntree 
		
	
	The schools list includes BSF One School Pathfinders, academies and schools receiving ICT funding only as they have recently been rebuilt.

Catz Club

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether  (a) his Department,  (b) its predecessor and  (c) its agencies have provided funding to the charity (i) Catz Club and (ii) Schoolfriend in the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: I am informed that the Department for Children, Schools and Families and its predecessor the Department for Education and Skills have no record of any direct payments to either Catz Club or Schoolfriend during the last five years.
	The Department does not have any Executive Agencies.

Children: Care Homes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of children's homes did not meet the national standards for care homes on the latest date for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 27 January 2009:
	PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NUMBER 247857: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, how many and what percentage of children's homes did not meet the national standards for care homes on the latest date for which figures are available.
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
	There are 36 national minimum standards for children's homes, each with a number of underpinning criteria. Most, but not all, of these standards are legal requirements set in regulations. A detailed list of the standards, detailing those which are legal requirements, can be found in the Department of Health's 2002 document Children's Homes: National Minimum Standards, available at
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH4010076.
	Where providers do not meet the national minimum standards that are legal requirements, we set 'actions', to which providers must respond. Ofsted uses its enforcement powers to bring about compliance in these cases.
	Table A shows the number of children's homes that failed to meet at least one of the national minimum standards linked to a legal requirement set in regulations during the inspection year 2007-08 (the last full year for which we have data). Inspectors judged that the majority of the failures to meet the standards did not have a significant impact on outcomes for children. As a result, overall we judged only 8% of children's homes as inadequate during that same period.
	
		
			  Table A: Actions set against national minimum standards (NMS) from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 
			   Number  Percentage 
			 Total active children's homes with an action/s against one or more NMS from their most recent full inspection in the 2007-08 cycle. 1239 70 
			 Total active children's homes without an action against any NMS from their most recent full inspection in the 2007-08 cycle. 531 30 
			 Total active children's homes with a completed full inspection in 07-08 cycle. 1770 100 
		
	
	Where providers do not meet national minimum standards that are not legal requirements, Ofsted makes 'recommendations'. We can also set recommendations to bring about improvement over and above the national minimum standards. We do not distinguish in our records between those recommendations we set in relation to improvement and those we set for failing to meet an aspect of the national minimum standards. We can not, therefore, supply data about children's homes which did not meet those national minimum standards that are not linked to legal requirements.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Rt Hon Beverley Hughes MP, Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.

Children: Databases

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the Answer of 8 October 2008,  Official Report, column 474W, on children: databases, which usability issues his Department is resolving before the ContactPoint system is user tested.

Beverley Hughes: ContactPoint is designed to save time for professionals working with children, therefore ensuring smooth working for users is very important.
	The purpose of testing is to uncover issues and deal with them before deployment. We discovered a number of issues that we wanted to rectify before commencing the final stages of testing with users. They were typical for this stage of project delivery and included minor functional changes and enhancements to screens. If not rectified, these issues can cause frustration to those involved in testing activity and can restrict the benefit that the activity can provide.
	We have always said that we will take the time to get ContactPoint right. We wanted to ensure that testing provided the maximum benefit possible and therefore took the decision to fix these issues before commencing testing with users on 13 October 2008. The user testing phase completed successfully on 28 November 2008.

Children: Databases

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 28 January,  Official Report, columns 648-9W, on children: databases, if he plans to make the monthly assessments of early adopter local authorities public.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 9 February 2009
	The monthly assessments are undertaken by local authorities and are project documents internal to the local authorities themselves. Local authorities provide the information to the Department on the basis that it will be used to enable the Department to assess progress, provide targeted support where necessary and to share good practice. It is not collected for the purpose of publication. The assessments are not intended or designed for publication.

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much  (a) central government and  (b) each local authority has spent on child protection in each of the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	Many local Children's Trust partners commit expenditure to child protection including the police, health services, and local authority children's social services departments. Net expenditure by local authorities in England on children's social care, which includes expenditure on child protection, in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			   million 
			  Outturn  
			 2004-05 4394 
			 2005-06 4689 
			 2006-07 4999 
			   
			  Budget  
			 2007-08 5105 
			 2008-09 5684 
			  Source: Budgets Annual RA return Outturn PSS EXP1 
		
	
	Expenditure in other areas of local authority activity, for example on early years services and school transport, also contribute to the safeguarding and protection of children and young people.
	Estimated programme expenditure by DCSF on safeguarding in 2008-09 will be 47.3 million, and expenditure was 32.5 million in 2007-08. These totals include revenue and capital expenditure on the introduction of the Vetting and Barring Scheme, the Making Safeguarding Everyone's Responsibility programme and the beginning of a grant arrangement with NSPCC. It is not possible to identify the amounts specifically allocated to child protection.

Children's Services: Doncaster

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families who preceded Paul Gray as Director of Children's Services in Doncaster.

Beverley Hughes: Paul Gray was preceded as Director of Children's Services for Doncaster Metropolitan borough council by Jim Crook.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many staff Capita plans to employ to administer the education maintenance allowance;
	(2)  whether all applicants for education maintenance allowance in the present academic year have been awarded grants backdated to the start of that year;
	(3)  how many education maintenance allowance payments have not been made.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Mark Haysom the LSC's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for Cotswold with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in both Libraries.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1846W, on education maintenance allowance, how many students have  (a) received a notice of entitlement for the education maintenance allowance,  (b) successfully enrolled and  (c) received at least one payment since September 2008.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Mark Haysom the LSC's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in both Libraries.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Blackpool

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many young people in Blackpool South constituency received education maintenance allowance in each year since the scheme was established.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Mark Haysom the LSC's chief executive, will write to my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, South with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in both Libraries.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many students in Leeds West constituency received education maintenance allowance in each year since 2005.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who has operational responsibility for the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) and holds the information about take-up and payments made under the scheme. Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in both Libraries.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2009,  Official Report, column 845W, on general certificate of secondary education, how many and what percentage of pupils in the maintained mainstream sector achieved five GCSEs including a modern language at grades A* to C in 1997, broken down by index of multiple deprivation decile.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not available.

Head Teachers: Recruitment

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department takes to ensure that the functioning of schools is not affected by the process of recruiting new headteachers.

Jim Knight: The head teacher vacancy rate remains low and stable, and no school is without a head, as there will always be an acting head in place. However, we do know that some schools in some areas find it more difficult than others to recruit heads. We have invested 30 million in the National College for School Leadership's (NCSL) succession planning work, which is helping local authorities and schools to develop local solutions to find, develop and retain great school leaders. The NCSL is also developing new accelerated leadership provision, designed to allow those with the necessary skills to move rapidly to headship.

Health Education: Drugs

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what type of training teachers providing drugs education in secondary schools are required to undertake; and what the duration of such training is.

Jim Knight: There is no requirement for teachers to undertake particular training on drug education. Drug education is delivered through personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE). The Department provides 2 million funding each year to train teachers and professionals who deliver PSHE. Over 8,000 practitioners (primarily teachers) have completed the national PSHE continuing professional development (CPD) programme since it began in 2003, and there are a further 1,600 practitioners undertaking the programme this year. Schools also have access to a variety of CPD provision through their local authorities and commercial provision.
	The Department is exploring with the Training and Development Agency for Schools how a route through initial teacher training can be created to become a specialist PSHE teacher.

Literacy and Numeracy: North East

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what measures his Department has introduced to improve levels of  (a) literacy and  (b) numeracy in the north-east since 1997.

Jim Knight: There have been significant improvements in standards of literacy and numeracy in the north-east region since 1997 due to a range of policies including increased investment; new primary and secondary teaching frameworks; better use of pupil data; the targets schools and local authorities have set for their pupils; challenge and support to local authorities through the national strategies; and targeted intervention to tackle school failure.
	Our Children's Plan goal is for 90 per cent. of 11-year-olds to achieve level 4+ in both English and mathematics by 2020. Extra one to one and small group tuition is being rolled out and by 2010 this will have helped 300,000 children nationally in English and in mathematics. Every Child a Reader, Every Child a Writer and Every Child Counts programmes are being introduced and a new primary school improvement strategy will be published later this year.
	At secondary level the National Challenge and 'Gaining Ground: Improving progress in coasting secondary schools' are now in place and a number of schools in the north-east will benefit from the additional funding provided to help them improve outcomes for pupils.
	The following table shows results for the north-east for pupils at the end of primary and secondary school:
	Further statistical information on educational performance in the north-east region, parliamentary constituencies and at district and ward level are available on the In Your Area website at
	www.dcsf.gov.uk/inyourarea
	
		
			  Key stage 2 and 4 results for north-east Government office region 
			1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  KS2 Level 4+ 
			 English NE 62 68 74 74 72 73 77 78 78 80 80 
			  England 65 71 75 75 75 75 78 79 79 80 81 
			 Mathematics NE 58 68 72 71 73 73 75 75 77 78 79 
			  England 59 69 72 71 73 73 74 75 76 77 78 
			  
			  KS4  1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 
			 5 A* to C inc. English and mathematics NE 28.4 30.8 32.9 33.6 34.8 34.7 35.7 38.1 40.4 41.8 44.9 
			  England 37 38.6 40 40.7 42.1 41.9 42.6 44.7 45.6 46.3 47.6 
			  Notes: 1. KS2 results for 2008 are provisional. The coverage of data for the north-east region was 93 per cent. for English and 97 per cent. for mathematics. 2. KS4 results prior to 2005 relate to the performance of 15-year-old pupils. From 2005, figures relate to the performance of pupils at the end of key stage 4. 3. All figures are published in Statistical First releases.

Music Standards Fund

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many local authorities supplemented their Music Standards Fund income with additional spending on music tuition in each of the last three years; and how many he expects will do so in 2009-10;
	(2)  how many local education authorities supplemented their music standards fund grants with additional spending in the last 12 months; and what the total monetary value of such supplements was.

Jim Knight: Planned net expenditure on music services (not standards fund supported) by local authorities in England from 2006-07 to 2008-09 is contained within the following table. The information for 2009-10 is due to be submitted to the Department by 31 March 2009.
	
		
			  Planned net expenditure on music services (not Standards Fund supported) 
			   
			  Local authority name  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 England 28,167,000 29,790,000 31,283,000 
			 Barking and Dagenham 466,000 484,000 817,000 
			 Barnet 42,000 0 0 
			 Barnsley 273,000 253,000 235,000 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 125,000 92,000 117,000 
			 Bedfordshire 837,000 835,000 1,041,000 
			 Bexley 176,000 182,000 137,000 
			 Birmingham 243,000 313,000 503,000 
			 Blackburn and Darwen 0 0 0 
			 Blackpool 0 0 0 
			 Bolton 193,000 80,000 91,000 
			 Bournemouth 74,000 74,000 59,000 
			 Bracknell Forest 55,000 37,000 0 
			 Bradford 0 0 0 
			 Brent 101,000 101,000 96,000 
			 Brighton and Hove 388,000 399,000 381,000 
			 Bromley 434,000 446,000 438,000 
			 Buckinghamshire 222,000 467,000 211,000 
			 Bury 43,000 0 0 
			 Calderdale 119,000 125,000 132,000 
			 Cambridgeshire 77,000 151,000 150,000 
			 Camden 101,000 125,000 233,000 
			 Cheshire 257,000 242,000 128,000 
			 City of Bristol 93,000 86,000 931,000 
			 City of Kingston-Upon-Hull 407,000 462,000 513,000 
			 City of London 52,000 50,000 52,000 
			 Cornwall 224,000 254,000 247,000 
			 Coventry 762,000 792,000 860,000 
			 Croydon 209,000 250,000 238,000 
			 Cumbria 72,000 74,000 0 
			 Darlington 106,000 122,000 124,000 
			 Derby 10,000 11,000 11,000 
			 Derbyshire 73,000 89,000 92,000 
			 Devon 74,000 76,000 69,000 
			 Doncaster 0 118,000 113,000 
			 Dorset 190,000 187,000 161,000 
			 Dudley 883,000 997,000 1,007,000 
			 Durham 426,000 410,000 445,000 
			 Ealing 0 0 0 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 313,000 395,000 414,000 
			 East Sussex 311,000 219,000 216,000 
			 Enfield 332,000 390,000 319,000 
			 Essex 872,000 805,000 1,131,000 
			 Gateshead 70,000 67,000 67,000 
			 Gloucestershire 60,000 60,000 11,000 
			 Greenwich 68,000 67,000 67,000 
			 Hackney 74,000 101,000 123,000 
			 Halton 0 0 0 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 0 0 0 
			 Hampshire 727,000 779,000 1,060,000 
			 Haringey 166,000 153,000 113,000 
			 Harrow 340,000 340,000 127,000 
			 Hartlepool 0 0 0 
			 Havering 254,000 241,000 270,000 
			 Herefordshire 0 0 0 
			 Hertfordshire 1,665,000 1,486,000 1,474,000 
			 Hillingdon 416,000 429,000 252,000 
			 Hounslow 132,000 60,000 58,000 
			 Isle of Wight 192,000 137,000 106,000 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0 
			 Islington 0 0 0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 28,000 29,000 30,000 
			 Kent 431,000 414,000 414,000 
			 Kingston upon Thames 119,000 134,000 81,000 
			 Kirklees 0 0 0 
			 Knowsley 0 249,000 194,000 
			 Lambeth 0 0 0 
			 Lancashire 40,000 35,000 34,000 
			 Leeds 580,000 612,000 606,000 
			 Leicester 0 0 0 
			 Leicestershire 0 0 0 
			 Lewisham 50,000 101,000 48,000 
			 Lincolnshire 573,000 638,000 720,000 
			 Liverpool (82,000) (129,000) (125,000) 
			 Luton 186,000 214,000 168,000 
			 Manchester 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 0 0 
			 Merton 110,000 70,000 71,000 
			 Middlesbrough 0 0 0 
			 Milton Keynes 484,000 510,000 472,000 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 12,000 12,000 12,000 
			 Newham 54,000 0 120,000 
			 Norfolk 143,000 151,000 299,000 
			 North East Lincolnshire 0 0 194,000 
			 North Lincolnshire 20,000 20,000 21,000 
			 North Somerset 118,000 103,000 78,000 
			 North Tyneside 0 0 0 
			 North Yorkshire 346,000 553,000 826,000 
			 Northamptonshire 339,000 254,000 147,000 
			 Northumberland 0 0 0 
			 Nottingham City 9,000 11,000 12,000 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,077,000 1,247,000 1,270,000 
			 Oldham 90,000 185,000 0 
			 Oxfordshire 942,000 988,000 804,000 
			 Peterborough 0 0 0 
			 Plymouth 0 0 0 
			 Poole 52,000 52,000 53,000 
			 Portsmouth 26,000 27,000 36,000 
			 Reading 0 0 0 
			 Redbridge 858,000 867,000 898,000 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 0 0 0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 96,000 98,000 101,000 
			 Rochdale 157,000 175,000 220,000 
			 Rotherham 80,000 0 0 
			 Rutland 0 0 0 
			 Salford 516,000 577,000 585,000 
			 Sandwell 488,000 554,000 695,000 
			 Sefton 254,000 290,000 158,000 
			 Sheffield 258,000 232,000 179,000 
			 Shropshire 296,000 269,000 277,000 
			 Slough 0 0 0 
			 Solihull 387,000 456,000 306,000 
			 Somerset 245,000 49,000 0 
			 South Gloucestershire 5,000 5,000 5,000 
			 South Tyneside 114,000 117,000 117,000 
			 Southampton 550,000 603,000 483,000 
			 Southend 0 0 104,000 
			 Southwark 0 0 0 
			 St. Helens 0 0 0 
			 Staffordshire 283,000 200,000 0 
			 Stockport 38,000 4,000 7,000 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 110,000 113,000 116,000 
			 Stoke on Trent 180,000 183,000 54,000 
			 Suffolk 390,000 360,000 52,000 
			 Sunderland 59,000 59,000 60,000 
			 Surrey (338,000) 223,000 1,509,000 
			 Sutton 52,000 56,000 71,000 
			 Swindon 52,000 3,000 3,000 
			 Tameside 0 0 0 
			 Telford and Wrekin 44,000 49,000 46,000 
			 Thurrock 66,000 70,000 121,000 
			 Torbay 0 0 0 
			 Tower Hamlets 0 0 0 
			 Trafford 219,000 229,000 234,000 
			 Wakefield 174,000 127,000 51,000 
			 Walsall 261,000 357,000 357,000 
			 Waltham Forest 109,000 246,000 191,000 
			 Wandsworth 0 0 0 
			 Warrington 0 0 0 
			 Warwickshire 1,306,000 1,307,000 1,223,000 
			 West Berkshire 0 0 0 
			 West Sussex 473,000 475,000 0 
			 Westminster 0 0 0 
			 Wigan 0 0 47,000 
			 Wiltshire 5,000 0 283,000 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 46,000 48,000 48,000 
			 Wirral 172,000 163,000 43,000 
			 Wokingham 57,000 58,000 59,000 
			 Wolverhampton 57,000 92,000 117,000 
			 Worcestershire 321,000 295,000 256,000 
			 York 185,000 189,000 189,000 
			  Notes:  1. Includes expenditure (not Standards Fund supported) on the provision of music tuition or other activities which provide opportunities for pupils to enhance their experience of music. This is drawn from local authorities' budget statements submitted to the DCSF.  2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000 and may not sum due to rounding.  3. Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 3 February 2009.

Music: General Certificate of Secondary Education

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of pupils sat GCSE examinations in music in each year since 1997; and what proportion received A* to C grades.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The available information relates to those 15-year-old pupils who attempted GCSE examinations in Music and is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage of 15-year-old pupils who attempted GCSE examinations in Music and the percentage of these pupils who received A* to C grades, England1997 to 2008 
			   Percentage of all 15-year-old pupils attempting subject  Percentage of 15-year-old pupils attempting subject that achieved grades A* to C 
			 1997 6.8 67.7 
			 1998 6.6 67.9 
			 1999 7.0 68.9 
			 2000 7.1 69.4 
			 2001 6.9 69.7 
			 2002 7.2 70.3 
			 2003 7.6 68.1 
			 2004 7.9 68.8 
			 2005 8.2 70.2 
			 2006 8.4 72.0 
			 2007 8.3 72.5 
			 2008 8.2 73.5

Music: Teachers

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many applications for funding were received from the fund established for the professional development of music teachers in each year since 2006; how many have completed programmes funded as a result of such applications; and how many participants completed their portfolios in each year.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In the pilot programme from 2007 to 2008, 733 teachers had completed some modules and 304 of these had completed portfolios by the end of 2008. Under the programme from September 2008, 930 teachers have begun work.
	The aim of the Key Stage 2 Music CPD programme is to establish a growing body of music practitioners who have considered at a deep level the issues surrounding teaching and learning in the context of whole class instrumental and vocal activity. Participants complete up to 14 modules through workshops and online learning, as well as benefiting from one-to-one mentoring. As with all professional development this is an ongoing process. The completion of a portfolio indicates a key milestone but does not indicate that a teacher's professional development is complete, or necessarily that the professional development of other teachers is somehow deficient. Teachers who have engaged with the programme have expressed high levels of satisfaction and even at this early stage we have every reason to believe that children's experience of music making is benefiting as a result. The first report on the effectiveness of the programme will be published in March.

Music: Teachers

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of primary schools have a teacher with a formal music qualification.

Jim Knight: The information is not collected centrally.

National Curriculum Tests

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on which occasions in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008 officials in his Department reported to Ministers on the administration of the key stage tests by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority; what steps Ministers took in response to each report; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Officials provide Ministers with briefing and regular updates on progress during test cycles, as appropriate, covering current issues, risks and remedial action taken. In 2008 officials reported their assessment of key risks to National Curriculum test delivery to Ministers in submissions on 7 February 2008, 2 April 2008 and 10 June 2008, as well as providing frequent updates on progress and issues throughout May and June 2008. As set out in Lord Sutherland's report (The Sutherland Inquiry: an independent inquiry into the delivery of National Curriculum tests in 2008), Ministers responded to these assessments by seeking reassurance from QCA and NAA that they had suitable action in hand to secure delivery of their contractors' obligations.

Pre-School Education

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of  (a) children's centres nurseries,  (b) maintained nurseries and  (c) private, voluntary and independent nurseries reported vacant places in (i) England, (ii) each region, (iii) the 10 per cent. most deprived areas and (iv) the 10 per cent. least deprived areas in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of childminders reported vacant places in  (a) England,  (b) each region,  (c) the 10 per cent. most deprived local authority areas and  (d) the 10 per cent. least deprived local authority areas in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects information on vacant places for children at child care and early years providers. Table 1 shows the number and proportion of providers in England that reported vacancies, and the total number of providers, by type of provision. Data for previous years are not available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Providers reporting vacant places for children on an average day 
			   2005  2006  2007 
			  Number of providers with vacancies
			 Full day care 7,900 8,200 9,400 
			 Full day care in children's centres n/a 450 650 
			 Child minders n/a 30,300 36,600 
			 Nursery schools n/a 150 150 
			 
			  Percentage of providers with vacancies
			 Full day care 67 65 69 
			 Full day care in children's centres n/a 63 69 
			 Child minders n/a 53 62 
			 Nursery schools n/a 38 36 
			 
			  Total number of providers
			 Full day care 11,800 12,700 13,600 
			 Full day care in children's centres n/a 800 950 
			 Child minders 57,700 57,900 59,800 
			 Nursery schools n/a 450 450 
			 n/a = Cases where data are not available, either because the question was not asked, or the provider type was not surveyed in that year.  Note: Full day care in children's centres are a sub-group of all full day care providers and are also included in the all full day care figures. 
		
	
	Table 2 shows the total number of vacancies reported and the number of registered places, by type of provision. Data for previous years are not available.
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of vacancies and registered places for children 
			   2005  2006  2007 
			  Total number of vacancies
			 Full day care 88,400 81,000 107,300 
			 Full day care in children's centres n/a 6,600 8,800 
			 Child minders 80,700 67,000 85,900 
			 Nursery schools n/a 2,000 1,400 
			 
			  Total number of registered places
			 Full day care 511,100 544,200 596,500 
			 Full day care in children's centres n/a 37,700 51,100 
			 Child minders 275,600 272,600 291,500 
			 Nursery schools n/a 28,100 28,400 
			 n/a = Cases where data are not available, either because the question was not asked, or the provider type was not surveyed in that year.  Note: Full day care in children's centres are a sub-group of all full day care providers and are also included in the all full day care figures. 
		
	
	Table 3 shows the number and proportion of providers in each region that reported vacancies, and the total number of providers, by type of provision. Data for previous years are not available. Data for nursery schools are not available due to small sub-sample sizes for this provider type at the regional level.
	
		
			  Table 3: Providers reporting vacant places for children on an average day, by region 
			   Full day care  Full day care in children's centres  Child minders 
			   2006  2007  2006  2007  2006  2007 
			  Number of providers with vacancies   
			 East Midlands 680 800 30 40 2,400 3,380 
			 East of England 810 830 30 40 3,410 4,310 
			 London 1,210 1,390 80 100 4,790 7,050 
			 North East, Yorkshire and Humberside 1,060 1,350 110 180 4,720 4,600 
			 North West 1,120 1,300 80 100 3,180 4,340 
			 South East 1,430 1,590 30 70 6,320 6,630 
			 South West 910 1,060 50 1,060 2,570 3,310 
			 West Midlands 1,000 1,110 40 80 2,920 3,010 
			
			  Percentage of providers with vacancies   
			 East Midlands 70 75 63 73 51 69 
			 East of England 68 68 50 67 52 59 
			 London 63 72 66 60 51 71 
			 North East, Yorkshire and Humberside 64 73 65 75 57 56 
			 North West 64 70 76 63 46 62 
			 South East 65 67 45 76 58 60 
			 South West 61 66 75 68 48 61 
			 West Midlands 66 67 55 69 59 57 
			
			  Total number of providers   
			 East Midlands 990 1,080 50 60 4,800 4,990 
			 East of England 1,180 1,240 50 60 6,990 7,280 
			 London 1,900 1,950 120 160 9,480 10,010 
			 North East, Yorkshire and Humberside 1,670 1,830 170 230 8,310 8,600 
			 North West 1,720 1,850 100 160 6,710 6,920 
			 South East 2,220 2,390 60 90 11,060 11,320 
			 South West 1,490 1,610 60 90 5,400 5,450 
			 West Midlands 1,530 1,640 80 120 5,110 5,250 
			  Note: Full day care in children's centres are a sub-group of all full day care providers and are also included in the all full day care figures. 
		
	
	Table 4 shows the total number of vacancies reported and the number of registered places, in each region, by type of provision. Data for previous years are not available. Data for nursery schools are not available due to small sub-sample sizes for this provider type at the regional level.
	
		
			  Table 4: Number of vacancies and registered places for children, by region 
			   Full day care  Full day care in children's centres  Child minders 
			   2006  2007  2006  2007  2006  2007 
			  Total number of vacancies   
			 East Midlands 8,750 10,510 470 510 5,320 9,010 
			 East of England 9,370 8,300 320 350 7,680 10,420 
			 London 11,620 18,050 940 1,350 8,800 15,860 
			 North East, Yorkshire and Humberside 11,480 14,460 2,230 2,610 12,100 11,390 
			 North West 11,530 13,910 880 1,330 6,940 9,200 
			 South East 12,840 20,970 450 970 13,980 15,130 
			 South West 7,830 10,250 540 600 5,340 6,860 
			 West Midlands 7,590 10,800 760 1,030 6,810 7,980 
			
			  Total number of registered places   
			 East Midlands 47,190 53,240 2,610 3,140 24,550 26,610 
			 East of England 53,120 54,100 2,800 2,930 34,180 35,910 
			 London 74,720 84,830 7,310 8,980 34,680 40,340 
			 North East, Yorkshire and Humberside 75,070 79,190 8,160 11,060 42,270 45,640 
			 North West 81,630 89,930 5,100 9,100 32,170 34,690 
			 South East 95,270 105,540 4,730 5,260 51,160 53,870 
			 South West 54,110 60,600 2,660 4,330 27,400 27,280 
			 West Midlands 63,060 69,080 4,370 6,350 26,220 27,160 
			  Note: Full day care in children's centres are a sub-group of all full day care providers and are also included in the all full day care figures. 
		
	
	Table 5 shows the number and proportion of providers that reported vacancies, and the total number of providers, by type of provision and level of deprivation. Data for previous years and data for the 10 per cent. most deprived and 10 per cent. least deprived areas are not available.
	
		
			  Table 5: Providers reporting vacant places for children on an average day, by level of deprivation 
			   30 per cent. most deprived areas  70 per cent. least deprived areas 
			   2006  2007  2006  2007 
			  Number of providers with vacancies 
			 Full day care 2,350 2,890 5,840 6,530 
			 Full day care in children's centres 370 500 70 140 
			 Child minders 6,300 6,880 24,010 29,740 
			 Nursery schools 90 110 80 50 
			  
			  Percentage of providers with vacancies 
			 Full day care 67 72 65 68 
			 Full day care in children's centres 68 69 47 68 
			 Child minders 58 65 52 61 
			 Nursery schools 35 39 41 31 
			  
			  Total number of providers 
			 Full day care 3,520 4,030 9,180 9,550 
			 Full day care in children's centres 540 730 150 210 
			 Child minders 10,840 10,620 47,010 49,200 
			 Nursery schools 250 290 190 150 
			  Note: Full day care in children's centres are a sub-group of all full day care providers and are also included in the all full day care figures. 
		
	
	Table 6 shows the total number of vacancies and the number of registered places, by type of provision and level of deprivation. Data for previous years and data for the 10 per cent. most deprived and 10 per cent. least deprived areas are not available.
	
		
			  Table 6: Number of vacancies and registered places for children, by level of deprivation 
			   30 per cent. most deprived areas  70 per cent. least deprived areas 
			   2006  2007  2006  2007 
			  Total number of vacancies 
			 Full day care 24,570 35,680 56,440 71,440 
			 Full day care in children's centres 5,330 6,920 1,260 1,640 
			 Child minders 14,580 15,740 52,390 70,120 
			 Nursery schools 750 940 1,280 450 
			  
			  Total number of registered places 
			 Full day care 159,290 183,100 384,880 413,030 
			 Full day care in children's centres 30,290 38,160 7,460 11,600 
			 Child minders 47,790 49,490 224,820 242,000 
			 Nursery schools 15,300 19,250 12,790 9,180 
			  Note: Full day care in children's centres are a sub-group of all full day care providers and are also included in the all full day care figures.

Pre-School Education: Manpower

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of staff in the childcare sector in  (a) the 10 per cent. most deprived areas,  (b) 10 per cent. least deprived areas,  (c) five per cent. most deprived areas and  (d) five per cent. least deprived areas were qualified to at least level three in each of the last 30 years.

Beverley Hughes: The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects information on the level of qualification held by all paid staff by type of child care provider. Table 1 following shows the number and proportion of staff in England with at least a level three qualification in 2006 and 2007, by type of provision and by level of area deprivation. Data for previous years and data for  (a) the 10 per cent. most deprived areas,  (b) 10 per cent. least deprived areas,  (c) 5 per cent. most deprived areas and  (d) 5 per cent, least deprived areas are not available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Staff with at least a level three qualificationchild care providers, by level of deprivation 
			   30 per cent. most deprived areas  70 per cent. least deprived areas 
			   2006  2007  2006  2007 
			  Number of staff with at least a level 3 qualification 
			 Full day care 31,100 36,000 72,700 74,600 
			 Full day care in children's centres 5,800 8,400 1,600 2,300 
			 Sessional 4,500 6,000 28,800 27,000 
			 Out of school care 11,500 10,300 24,600 25,300 
			 Childminders 3,800 4,000 18,100 20,200 
			  
			  Percentage of staff with at least a level 3 qualification 
			 Full day care 77 74 71 71 
			 Full day care in children's centres 80 83 79 78 
			 Sessional 58 67 58 60 
			 Out of school care 55 57 51 54 
			 Childminders 35 38 38 41

Pre-school Education: Standards

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 18 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 274-5W, on pre-school education: standards, how many and what proportion of early years settings deemed inadequate by Ofsted since 1 September 2008 were  (a) in the 10 per cent. of most deprived areas,  (b) childminders,  (c) private, voluntary and independent settings,  (d) Montessori nurseries and  (e) Steiner nurseries.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 20 January 2009
	These are matters for Ofsted. The Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and copies of her replies have been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 30 January 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
	The numbers and proportions of early years settings deemed inadequate by Ofsted since 1 September 2008 are shown in the tables below. The figures in Table A are taken from provision inspected between 1 September 2008 and 31 October 2008, in line with the figures supplied for Parliamentary Question 233559. The figures are supplied in Table B cover provision inspected between 1 September 2008 and 31 December 2008.
	The 10% most deprived areas in England were identified using the Government's 'Indices of Deprivation 2007' (an index published once every three years), available at
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/communities/neighbourhoodrenewal/deprivation/deprivationQ7/.
	Ofsted does not, as a matter of course, collect our data in line with the sector types specified in the question (private, voluntary and independent early years settings), as it has no mandatory requirement to do so. The figures given in response to part (c) of your question represent settings that we are able to identify as private or voluntary, within our categories of 'childcare on domestic premises' and 'childcare on non-domestic premises'. Please note, however, that these do not represent the full picture, as data are not held for all providers and should, therefore, be treated with caution.
	Similarly, Ofsted does not, as a matter of course, collect data on whether provision is Montessori or Steiner. The figures provided in response to parts (d) and (e) of your question represent settings where 'Montessori' or 'Steiner' appears in a free text field on setting details. This may not represent all settings of these types and so this data must be treated with caution.
	Please note that that the selection of provision for inspection each year is not random. We select providers for inspection each year based on a number of factors, including the period since their last inspection and the grade awarded them at that inspection. Therefore, these figures should not be used to make judgements about the standards of national provision.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Rt Hon Beverley Hughes MP, Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
	
		
			  Table A: Settings judged to be inadequate in Early Years Register ( E YR) inspections between 1 September and 31 October 2008( 1,2) 
			  Provider Type  Number of inspections  Number of providers deemed inadequate  Percentage of providers deemed inadequate as a proportion of all inspections of this provider type (%)  Percentage of providers deemed inadequate as a proportion of all EYR inspections deemed inadequate (%)  Percentage of providers deemed inadequate as a proportion of all EYR inspections (%) 
			 Those in 10% most deprived areas 123 14 11 11 1 
			 Childminders 1,348 69 5 53 4 
			 Private Settings 441 31 7 24 2 
			 Voluntary Settings 92 7 8 5 0 
			 Montessori Settings 8 0 0 0 0 
			 Steiner Settings 0 0 0 0 0 
			 All Early Years Inspections 1,922 131   7 
			 (1) Percentages are rounded to nearest whole number (2) The explanatory descriptions in this response outline where data in this table are not representative of all providers and should be treated with caution. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Settings judged to be inadequate in Early Years Register (EYR) inspections between 1 September and 31 December 2008( 1,2) 
			  Provider Type  Number of inspections  Number of providers deemed inadequate  Percentage of providers deemed inadequate as a proportion of all inspections of this provider type (%)  Percentage of providers deemed inadequate as a proportion of all EYR inspections deemed inadequate (%)  Percentage of providers deemed inadequate as a proportion of all EYR inspections (%) 
			 Those in 10% most deprived areas 403 21 5 5 0 
			 Childminders 4,043 240 6 61 4 
			 Private Settings 1,328 107 8 27 2 
			 Voluntary Settings 303 16 5 4 0 
			 Montessori Settings 54 3 6 1 0 
			 Steiner Settings 0 0 0 0 0 
			 All Early Years Inspections 5,876 394   7 
			 (1) Percentages are rounded to nearest whole number. (2) The explanatory descriptions in this response outline where data in this table are not representative of all providers and should be treated with caution.

Primary Education: Mathematics

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many mathematics specialists have been officially appointed in primary schools since 1 June 2008.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally at present. The primary mathematics specialist is a new role recommended by Sir Peter Williams in his 2008 Independent Review of Mathematics Teaching in Early Years Settings and Primary Schools. We aim to train 13,000 teachers to become maths specialists by 2019 in line with Sir Peter's recommendation. A small pathfinder project is currently running to test issues relating to the training for maths specialists.

Pupils: Leisure

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment his Department has made of the effect of time spent by school children playing computer games and watching television on their school performance.

Jim Knight: The Department has made no such assessment in relation to watching television and school performance by school pupils.
	In 2005 the University of Sheffield conducted a study on behalf of DFES of the educational impact of children's use of computers at home (Valentine et al, 2005). It found that, overall, the use of computers at home was linked to higher levels of educational performance than expected given prior attainment and other factors.
	However, where children used computers extensively for leisure purposes, focused predominantly on computer games, there was a small but significant negative impact. The researchers concluded that the negative impact was not a direct result of game playing, but of impact on time spent on school work.
	In 2006 the Department commissioned the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) to produce a publication that gave an overview of the current use of games in learning, the impact of such approaches on learning and importantly the needs of the teacher in this context. The publication released by ELSPA on 4 October 2006, Unlimited Learning: Computer and video games in the learning landscape offers a snapshot of what is happening across education and, importantly, offers an evidence base from which informed decisions can be taken by industry and education alike.
	There is a growing body of evidence that some characteristics of games have a role in supporting learning, but the relationship between learning of this sort and performance requires further research. Becta is working closely with Futurelab to build the evidence base. Games vary considerably in nature. Some games are more appropriately designed for supporting academic performance than others. These others may support other skills such as problem-solving, providing authentic or 'real life' learning experiences, making decisions, or communicating with others.
	A recent survey by Becta found that 11 to 14-year-olds spend an average of four hours per week playing games, and boys spend twice as much time as girls (Luckin et al, 2008). 80 per cent. of seven to 11-year-olds reported playing games at home (Cranmer et al, 2008).

School Libraries

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of  (a) primary schools,  (b) secondary schools and  (c) independent sixth form colleges do not have a permanent library.

Jim Knight: The Department does not hold up-to-date information on the numbers and proportions of schools and colleges with libraries. It is thought that most, if not all, schools and colleges have library facilities. Schools sometimes opt to have distributed facilities, rather than centralised libraries.
	Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under 700 million in 1996-97 to 6.7 billion in 2008-9 and will rise further to 8.0 billion by 2010-11. Progress is being made year-by-year in improving the quality of the school building stock. The bulk of schools capital is now allocated by formula to authorities and schools so that they can address their local priorities, including the upgrading of library facilities.

Schools: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department has spent on  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school buildings in West Chelmsford constituency in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The Department allocates capital funding on a local authority basis, and then relies on the authority to prioritise spending within its area and between schools.
	Accordingly, no records are held centrally on spending in West Chelmsford, or between primary and secondary schools.
	Capital allocations by the Department to Essex county council in each of the last five years are set out in the following table:
	
		
			   million 
			 2003-04 62.6 
			 2004-05 63.2 
			 2005-06 55.6 
			 2006-07 51.2 
			 2007-08 52.6 
		
	
	In the current period 2008-09 to 2010-11, allocations made so far amount to 244.2 million, i.e. 81.4 million per annum. The corresponding allocation in 1996-97 was 12.2 million.

Schools: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many schools in the National Challenge funding programme have yet to receive any of the additional funding allocated via the programme; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  which national challenge schools have received no national challenge funding since June 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: We have worked with local authorities to agree a package of support for each school supported through the National Challenge. We have made payments to local authorities, rather than schools, through the Standards Fund.
	We have not yet signed off plans for four local authorities, although all schools in those local authorities are being supported by a National Challenge Adviser.

Schools: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2009,  Official Report, column 497W, on schools: standards, what methodology is used in calculating the level of financial support provided for each national challenge school.

Jim Knight: Funding for schools supported through National Challenge has been tailored according to the needs of individual schools, and has not been calculated through a formula. My officials met representatives of local authorities in the autumn to develop bespoke funding plans, which were moderated to ensure consistency and value for money at a national level.

Schools: Weather

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many local education authorities' schools were closed  (a) on each day of the week and  (b) in total during the week beginning 2 February 2009.

Jim Knight: There is no duty upon schools or local authorities to report school closures to the Department, so we do not routinely collect this information. Because of the number of schools closed in the week in question, we are collecting this information on a one-off basis. I will write to the hon. Member shortly when the information has been collected, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Libraries.

Serco

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the value was of his Department's contracts held with Serco in each year since his Department was established.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To gather the information required to estimate the total value for each Serco contract held each year since DCSF was established would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold. However, our financial records show that the following payments were made to Serco in each of the years since the Department was established:
	April 2007 to March 2008: 7,538,442;
	April 2008 to January 2009: 6,722,922.
	Total payments made to Serco during the period was 14,261,364.

Specialist Schools: Music

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many colleges were established with music as a  (a) first,  (b) second and  (c) combined specialism in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many colleges listed music as a  (a) first,  (b) second and  (c) combined specialism in each of the last three years.

Jim Knight: There have been 32 schools that have taken music as either their initial specialism, as an additional specialism or as part of a combined specialism, over the last three years. The following table shows the breakdown of those figures.
	
		
			   2006  2007  2008  Total 
			 Music as an initial specialism 5 4 6 15 
			 Music as an additional specialism 5 5 1 11 
			 Music as a combined specialism 3 2 1 6 
			  
			 Total 13 11 8 32

Sure Start Programme: Blackpool

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people used Sure Start centres in Blackpool in the last year for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: The Department does not collect information centrally about the numbers of people accessing individual Sure Start Children's Centres. We expect local authorities and children's centres to collect data on the take up of services as part of their local performance management arrangements. Sure Start Children's Centres provide universal services for families with children under the age of five years. There are currently 12 Sure Start Children's Centres in Blackpool and over 2,900 Centres nationwide, providing access to early childhood services for almost 2.3 million children. By 2010 there will be at least 3,500 Sure Start Children's Centresone for every community.

Sure Start Programme: Sheffield

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what discussions he has had with Sheffield Council on its decision to reduce the funding to eight Sure Start children's centres and community nurseries; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: Sheffield's allocation for the periods 2008-11 for Sure Start children's centres and Sure Start local programmes is 35,384,827.
	Sheffield City council, like all local authorities, is responsible for allocating the Sure Start children's centres revenue funding it receives from my Department, and for ensuring there is sufficient childcare for working parents in its area. It has flexibility to determine levels of resource for the children's centres within its area in order to meet identified needs.
	We have made enquiries via the Government Office Yorkshire and Humberside and Sheffield City council have informed us that it is not withdrawing funding from its children's centres or community nurseries.

Teachers: Males

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to his letter of correction, Deposited Paper 2008-2997, to the answer of 28 October 2008,  Official Report, column 596W, on teachers: males, how many maintained  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools had fewer than (i) 10 per cent. (ii) 20 per cent. and (iii) 30 per cent. qualified male teachers in 2008.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of local authority maintained primary and secondary schools in England that employed fewer than 10 per cent, 20 per cent. and 30 per cent. qualified full-time equivalent male teachers.
	
		
			  Number of maintained nursery/primary and secondary schools with fewer than 10 per cent, 20 per cent., and 30 per cent. full-time equivalent qualified male teachers: Year January 2008 Coverage: England 
			   Primary  Secondary( 1) 
			 Less than 10 per cent. 6,800 10 
			 Less than 20 per cent. 12,390 70 
			 Less than 30 per cent. 15,930 360 
			 (1) Excludes Academies  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census

Teachers: Qualifications

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many graduates who began secondary school teaching careers had degrees from  (a) Oxford and  (b) Cambridge in each of the last 15 years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many graduates who began secondary school teaching careers had degrees from Russell Group universities in each of the last 15 years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information is not available in the format requested.

Teachers: Qualifications

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many graduates who began secondary school teaching careers had degrees in  (a) English,  (b) mathematics,  (c) science and  (d) foreign languages in each of the last 15 years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information is not available in the format requested.

Teachers: Sick Leave

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many teachers have been on long-term sick leave in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.